The Epic Tales of Alice Brandon
by mrs-emmett-cullenx3
Summary: Alice Brandon is the Girl Who Lived. At school there's only one boy she wants: Jasper Hale. Will he ever see her as more than his teammate? And what's with the visions she keeps seeing? HP/Twilight x-over. Read past the first chapter please! R&R!
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: I do not own ****Harry Potter**** or ****Twilight****. J.K. Rowling and Stephenie Meyer do.**

Prologue: November 1, 1990

John Prunley knew it was not going to be a normal day. The first thing that happened that was out of the ordinary was that his alarm clock did not go off a precisely 7:30 in the morning. At 7:35, his alarm buzzed. He looked over at his clock, eyebrows furrowed. Perhaps he had just set it to go off five minutes later. Yes, that had to be it.

John got up, showered, and got ready for work. He walked downstairs into the kitchen where his wife, Samantha, was attempting to feed his daughter, April, her breakfast. April was only a year old, but she was putting up a fight with her mother.

John grabbed his briefcase and headed out the door, ready to go to work. He paused by his car when he saw the owls perched on top of it.

"Shoo, shoo!" he said, waving at them with his briefcase. The owls scattered instantly, and John Prunley got in his car and left for work. As he approached the end of River Way, the street he and his family lived on, he saw an odd sight: a cat reading a book. He slammed on his brakes and looked back, but the cat was just standing there, looking at him. He shook his head. He was being silly. There was no book in sight.

He looked at the cat again and saw it was reading the sign that said "River Way." No, the cat was looking at the sign—cats couldn't read. He shook his head again and drove off to work.

As he drove away, the cat pulled the book out again and began reading. Luckily, Mr. Prunley was out of sight when this occurred.

Mr. Prunley arrived at work in record time. Once he had parked, he got out of his car and started walking to his building in Paternoster Square. Mr. Prunley was a broker in the London Stock Exchange and he was anxious to get to work. On his way there, he saw a bunch of weird-looking people congregating on the sidewalks. They were all dressed in odd-colored cloaks. Mr. Prunley _never_ understood the strange things young people wore.

When he looked back at the group, he was furious to see that most of the people were middle aged or older. In fact, one of the men had grey hair and a long grey beard. Muttering to himself, John Prunley made his way into his office and began to work.

Luckily, Mr. Prunley's office had no window, or he would have seen the hundreds of owls that swooped through the sky all morning. Since he did not, he saw no owls and had a stress-free and owl-free morning.

At lunch, he decided to venture into the street and buy a sandwich from the shop across the street. They made the best BLTs there, and he was in the mood for one.

After he had gotten his lunch, Mr. Prunley walked back to his office. On the way, he saw a bunch of the oddly dressed people he had seen that morning. They were all huddled in groups, whispering about something. Maybe they were those "conspiracy theory" people he despised so much. Drawing his coat tightly around himself, he kept walking.

As he passed the one group, he caught snippets of their conversation.

"…yes, the Brandon's, that's what I heard…"

"…their daughter, Alice, all alone there…"

"…terrible tragedy…"

Mr. Prunley stopped dead in his tracks. His wife had a sister, Cynthia Brandon. They hadn't seen her or her husband in years. They tended to avoid familiarity with _their _lot, anyways. But John remembered that they had a daughter, about April's age.

He shook his head again and walked back to his office. He was being silly. Brandon wasn't an uncommon name. In fact, he knew other people with the last name Brandon. Anyways, he didn't even know their daughter's name _was_ Alice. He thought it might be something more like Alison, or Angela. They were probably talking about some other Brandon family with a daughter. Laughing to himself, Mr. Prunley went back to work.

Walking into his office, he thought to himself that he shouldn't mention this to his wife. She always was so touchy whenever her sister was mentioned. He would be that way too if _he_ had a sister like her.

He finished his work and packed up to go home. As he was walking to his car, he accidentally bumped into someone on the street. He began to apologize when he noticed the man was wearing a bright orange cloak.

The man, however, did not seem to be bothered that Mr. Prunley had knocked him over. In fact, he seemed to be almost delighted. "Don't be sorry, my dear sir, for nothing could upset me today! Rejoice, for You-Know-Who has gone at last! Even Muggles like you should be celebrating this happy, happy day!"

The man got up, hugged Mr. Prunley, gave him a kiss on the cheek, and walked away. Mr. Prunley looked after him in a state of shock. He was pretty sure the man had just called him a Muggle, whatever that was. He sprinted to his car and sped the entire way home.

When he reached his house, he noticed the cat from this morning was sitting stiffly next to his mailbox. It was looking directly at him as he got out of his car.

"Shoo!" he said, waving his arms at the cat. The cat didn't move, but continued to glare at him. He was very confused; this didn't seem like normal cat behavior.

When he entered his house at 3 River Way, his wife was just putting dinner on the table. She told him how April had learned a new word today (Mine!). She then proceeded to tell him about the huge fight Mr. and Mrs. Down-the-Street had a three in the afternoon ("Loud enough for people in Wales to hear them!").

After dinner, Mrs. Prunley put April in bed while Mr. Prunley watched the evening news. The anchorman started talking about the odd behavior owls had been displaying today. Mr. Prunley's eyes widened when he heard that. Then, the weatherman came on, talking about shooting stars all the way in Kent.

Mr. Prunley sat there, thinking about the day. Owl sightings, shooting stars, oddly dressed people, and whisperings about the Brandon's. Mr. Prunley saw no other option: he would have to say something to his wife.

Samantha walked in, sat down in her favorite armchair, and began knitting a pair of socks for April.

"Er—Samantha—you haven't heard from your sister lately, have you?"

She stopped knitting and glared at him. She knew he knew the rule: never mention her sister. "No," she said sharply. "Why?"

"Well, there was some strange business on the news. Owls everywhere, shooting stars, funny dressed people…"

Mrs. Prunley was now squeezing her knitting needles so tightly that her knuckles had turned white. "So?" she spat at him.

"I was just thinking they might be involved with, you know—_her _lot."

Samantha glared at John, daring him to mention her sister by name. He decided against mentioning the name Brandon for fear of his life. "Their daughter, she must be April's age name. What's her name? Angela?"

"Alice. Horrible name," she muttered.

"Oh yes, Alice." Mr. Prunley dropped the subject, but he thought about it for a while longer. The two of them went upstairs to go to bed. Mr. Prunley looked out the window and saw another owl fly past. He thought of the Brandon's. If it came out that they were involved in this nonsense…he shuddered. If _anybody_ found out they were related to them, he would never be able to show his face at the office.

John Prunley got into bed and fell asleep, still thinking of owls and the Brandon's.

Out on River Way, a tall, elderly man stood by a street light. The cat sitting by the mailbox started at him. The man walked over to number three River Way and stared at the house. He didn't seem to realize that he did not belong on River Way.

He was dressed in a long blue cloak, covered in shimmering silver stars. He had a long white beard that was long enough to tuck into a belt. He was tall, thin, and his nose appeared to have been broken long ago. His piercing blue eyes were covered with half-moon spectacles. His name was Albus Dumbledore.

He reached into his cloak and pulled something out. It looked like a cigarette lighter. He glanced over at the cat sitting in front of 3 River Way.

"I should have known," he muttered.

He clicked the device in his hand, and the light from the nearest lamppost disappeared inside of it. He clicked the device eleven more times so all the lights were out. Now, even if someone looked out of their window on to the street, they wouldn't see anything.

"Good evening, Professor McGonagall," he said, addressing the cat. The cat sprang up, transforming into a severe-looking woman. She was wearing a long robe of emerald and had her dark brown hair pulled back into a tight bun.

"How did you know it was me?"

"My dear, I've never seen a cat sit so stiff and still."

"You'd be like that two if you stayed in the same place all day."

"All day? You haven't been out partying like the rest of them? I swear I passed over a dozen celebrations on my way here!" Dumbledore remarked..

"Oh, yes, everyone is out celebrating. Even the Muggles have noticed. They're not stupid, Albus. It was even on their news. Shooting stars, owls flying in open daylight. I mean, they aren't even dressed in Muggle clothes!"

"They have reason to be happy."

"Yes, I know, but people are being downright careless. Dressed in outrageous robes, swapping rumors. Ironic it would be if they day You-Know-Who disappears the Muggles finally figure out we exist. He _is_ gone, isn't he?"

"Yes, I believe so. But my dear Professor McGonagall, surely a smart, sensible person like you can call him by his name? As I've been telling people for the past 11 years, we should be calling him by his proper name: Voldemort. After all, fear of a name increases fear of the thing itself."

"Well, _you_ have no reason to fear him. After all, you're he only one he ever feared. Anyways, have you heard the rumors that are flying around? About why he disappeared? About what stopped him?"

Dumbledore looked at Professor McGonagall, willing her to continue.

"People are saying that late last night, Voldemort," she shuddered when she said the name, but continued, "went to Godric's Hollow, looking for the Brandon's. The rumor is that he—he—killed Jason and Cynthia Brandon."

Dumbledore nodded somberly.

Professor McGonagall let out a loud gasp. "Jason and Cynthia, I can't believe it!"

"I know, it's horrible to imagine," Dumbledore said gently.

"But that's not all. The word is after he finished them, he turned to their daughter, Alice. Apparently, he tried to kill her, but he couldn't. They say the curse backfired, stripped him of his powers, and that's why he's gone."

Dumbledore nodded again.

"So it's all true?"

"It is."

"How is that possible? After everything he did, all the powerful wizards he killed…how did a baby finally break him?"

"We may never know." Dumbledore looked down at his watch. "Hagrid's late. I suppose he's the one who told you I was coming here."

"Yes, but I can't imagine why."

"I've come to deliver Alice to her aunt and uncle. They are her only remaining family."

"_Here?_" Professor McGonagall shrieked. "You can't be serious, Albus! I've been watching them all day, and these are the worst kind of Muggles. Today, I watched the little girl hit her mother over the head until she gave her a new doll. Alice Brandon live here? Anyone in our world would take her in."

"This is the best place for her. I've written a letter to them, explaining everything."

"A letter," Professor McGonagall said skeptically. "You believe you can explain everything in a letter? They won't understand. She'll be famous—a heroine. Books will be written about her…today will be known as 'Alice Brandon Day' in the future…everyone in our world will know her name!"

"My point exactly. It is best that she grow up away from all of this."

Professor McGonagall's retort was cut off by a loud roar. The two of them looked up into the sky and saw a large motorcycle emerge from the clouds and land on the street.

"Good evening, Hagrid," Dumbledore said, greeting the driver of the bike. The man on the bike was a wild looking man. He was at least twice the size of a normal man. He had bushy brown hair with a matching beard. He had on large, black combat boots and a thick leather jacket. In his arms was a bundle of pink blankets.

"Good evenin' Professor."

"Where did you get the bike?" Dumbledore asked.

"Borrowed if from young Sirius Black. He wanted to take her, but I says to him 'I have orders from Professor Dumbledore,' so he lent me the bike instead."

"No problems, then?"

"No. I got over there and got her out of there as fast as I could. She fell asleep flyin' over London."

Hagrid handed the baby to Professor Dumbledore. He moved the blankets away from her face. There, sleeping, was Alice Brandon. She had pale skin and black hair. On her forehead was a scar shaped like the letter S.

"Is that where—?"

Professor Dumbledore nodded. "She'll have that forever. Who knows, it may come in handy one day."

Professor Dumbledore put her in the basket he was holding and put the letter, addressed to the Prunley's, in there with her. Dumbledore walked up and placed the basket on their front doorstep.

"That's that," he said. "We might as well go out and join the celebrations," he said to Hagrid and Professor McGonagall. They nodded.

Dumbledore pulled the Putter-Outer out of his robes and clicked it once. All the lights returned to their original homes.

"Good luck, Alice," he whispered.

Alice Brandon lay in the basket, sleeping. She didn't know what had happened that night, and she wouldn't know for a long time. She didn't know that in a few hours, she would be woken by Samantha Prunley's scream when she opened the door to get the morning paper, or that everything she ever owned would be taken from her by her cousin. She didn't know that now, at this very moment, people all over England were meeting in pubs, toasting their glasses and saying, "To Alice Brandon, the girl who lived."


	2. Unexpected News

**AN: Everything in this story is from Alice's POV. Stuff in italics are dream sequences/visions/flashbacks if not otherwise noted.**

Chapter 1: Unexpected News

August, 2000

"_No! Not Alice! Please, have mercy!"_

"_Move aside!"_

"_No! Take me instead!"_

"_As you wish."_

_A sudden flash of green light followed by a high-pitched laugh. The man turned around. He had blood red eyes and a slit for a nose._

My eyes flew open. I threw my hands over my mouth to keep from screaming aloud. If I woke everyone in the house because of a bad dream, Aunt Samantha would beat me until I was black and blue.

I laid back down and thought about what I had just seen. There had been screams, someone said my name, then a flash of green light, laughing, and a man. A man who looked more like a snake than he did like a man.

Was this some kind of warning? Was I in danger? Was this man trying to find me?

I was being silly. It was just a dream, nothing to get worked up over.

I sighed and rolled over in my "bed." It wasn't really a bed. It was just a thin mattress on the floor of a closet, AKA my room. I closed my eyes and tried to fall back asleep, but the closet was suddenly filled with light.

"Get up, you worthless waste of space!" My aunt slammed the closet door shut again after yelling.

I groaned and stood up. Lucky for them, I was able to fit in the closet. If I was any taller, they would have to give me a _real_ bedroom.

I opened the door from the inside and made my way to the kitchen. I heard my aunt and uncle talking about something. I walked in and they both glared at me.

"What?"

"Don't talk to us that way, you ungrateful, nasty little girl!" my aunt spat at me. I was always being yelled at for something, even when I didn't do anything wrong. It wasn't my fault weird things always tended to happen around me.

Like the time at school Missy Sinclair had been making fun of how short I was, then she tripped because her shoelaces were tied together. She told Principal Greene I had done it, but I never touched her.

Or the time Aunt Samantha had given me one of April's ugly old sweaters to wear to school. No matter how much she tried to force it on me, it wouldn't fit, which was odd since April was a foot taller and 6 inches wider than me.

Yes, disaster tended to follow me wherever I went, and I was never able to explain it. No matter how many times I swore I didn't do anything, no one ever believed me.

I saw a pot on the kitchen stove and sniffed the air. It reeked like the worst thing I had ever smelled times 10.

"Ugh, what is _that?_" I asked, hoping it wasn't something she was going to make me eat. Knowing Aunt Samantha, it was.

"Your school uniform."

"My what?"

"You school uniform, you little brat. You start attending Harrogate's public school this year."

"So why are you cooking my uniform?" I asked.

"Well, it's April's old uniform. I have to dye it black."

"You couldn't buy me a new one? You know, one that would actually fit me? All of April's old clothes are too long and too wide."

"It's not my fault you're the size of a pixie," she sniffed.

I sighed and sunk down into a chair at the table.

"Don't sit down, stupid girl. Go fetch the mail!" Uncle John ordered. I sighed again and got up. I walked to the front door and picked up the mail. I glanced through it. There was a postcard from Uncle John's sister, a catalogue from Barney's, a bill from the electric company, and a letter.

I looked at the letter again. It was a thick envelope made of nice paper. On the back, there was a seal with a large H surrounded by a lion, a badger, a serpent, and an eagle. It was addressed, in green writing, to:

Ms. A. Brandon  
3 River Way  
The closet in the hallway  
Harrogate, England

Strange. I brought the mail into the kitchen and handed it to Uncle John, keeping the letter addressed to me. April was up now. She was sitting at the table and smirked at me. I sat down across from me, and she kicked me in the shins under the table. I winced in pain.

I looked at the envelope again, making sure it was real.

"Oh, there's a postcard from Anne. Turns out she's sick. Imagine, going all the way to Paris and them coming down with the flu. Preposterous."

"What's that?" April shrieked at me, pointing to the letter in my hand.

"Nothing," I said, hiding it behind my back.

"It's mine now. Give it to me!"

"It's mine. It has my name on it."

"Hand it over," Uncle John said, grabbing the letter out of my hands. "How can it be yours? Who would ever _dream_ of writing to you?" He looked down at the letter and his eyes opened wide.

"Samantha…it's…it's…" he stuttered, shoving the letter in her hand.

Aunt Samantha glanced at the letter. Her eyes widened like Uncle John's.

"How did they find her?" Aunt Samantha whispered. "Look, it's even addressed to the closet in the hall. How did they know that?" The two of them looked fearfully at each other.

"Can I have my letter back?" I asked.

"I want it!" April whined. She was getting impatient. She had never had to wait so long to get what she wanted.

"Out of the kitchen now!" Uncle John roared.

April started stamping her feet on the ground and screaming. Usually, if she threw a temper-tantrum, she'd get her way.

"Get out now!" Uncle John picked us both up by our shirt collars and threw us in the hall.

"What was that about?" April asked me.

I shrugged my shoulders. I pressed my ear to the door to attempt to hear what Aunt Samantha and Uncle John were saying.

"Move!" April hissed, shoving me out of the way. I wrestled my way back to the door. I ended up laying on the ground, pressing my ear to the crack on the bottom of the door.

"Samantha," Uncle John was saying, "how is this possible? How can she be one of _them_ if she hasn't been, you know, _practicing_?"

"John," Aunt Samantha whispered, "we have to stop this now! We promised when we took her, we'd prevent this from happening. And look now, a letter from that freak school, offering her a place!"

"Well, if she never responds, she can't go. We'll just get rid of the letter."

The kitchen door opened and Aunt Samantha came out.

"Where's my letter?" I asked.

"It was sent to you by mistake."

"It had

"John," Aunt Samantha whispered, "we have to stop this now! We promised when we took her, we'd prevent this from happening. And look now, a letter from that freak school, offering her a place!"

"Well, if she never responds, she can't go. We'll just get rid of the letter."

The kitchen door opened and Aunt Samantha came out.

"Where's my letter?" I asked.

"It was sent to you by mistake."

"It had

"John," Aunt Samantha whispered, "we have to stop this now! We promised when we took her, we'd prevent this from happening. And look now, a letter from that freak school, offering her a place!"

"Well, if she never responds, she can't go. We'll just get rid of the letter."

The kitchen door opened and Aunt Samantha came out.

"Where's my letter?" I asked.

"It was sent to you by mistake."

"It had _my _name and _my_ closet!"

"Go get your things?"

"Why?"

"Your moving upstairs."

********

The next week was very interesting. After the letter arrived and was destroyed, Aunt Samantha and Uncle John decided it was time I moved out of the closet and into an actual room. I moved into the spare bedroom next to April. The room was where Aunt Anne slept when she visited and where April kept most of the toys she no longer played with but refused to get rid of.

It only took one trip up the stairs to move all my things in. It was nice to not have to be cramped in a tiny closet anymore. I laid out on the bed and relaxed.

The next day, three letters arrived in the mail. Uncle John immediately ripped them into pieces. On Thursday, 15 letters came. They were in the mail, the newspaper, the cereal box, and the brand new box of doughnuts Uncle John bought. He threw them all in the fire.

On Friday, 24 letters came. There was one in each egg of the 24-pack of eggs Aunt Samantha bought. She threw them all in the shredder.

On Saturday, 50 letters came. They were jammed everywhere, from inside the shampoo bottle to hanging from the ceiling fan. Each one was thrown unmercifully in the fire by Uncle John.

"Who wants to talk to you so badly that they're putting letters in our food?" April asked me.

"No idea."

On Sunday, Uncle John was smiling. All morning, he was skipping around and whistling show-tunes. I knew why: there was no post on Sundays.

"Let's see them get us today," he kept muttering under his breath.

Around noon, we all sat down to lunch. Uncle John was about to take a bite out of his sandwich when it dropped to the ground—something had knocked it out of his hand.

He reached down and picked up a piece of paper. He glanced in horror at it. Suddenly, the house began to shake.

All at once, letters began shooting out of everywhere. They were coming in through the windows, through the door, through the mail slot, and through the fireplace. They were sailing through the air, whizzing past my head.

I started jumping up, trying to grab one. I finally got one, but Uncle John saw. I ran to the hall so I could open and read it, but he followed me and yanked me back, grabbing the letter I had stolen.

"That's it!" he shouted. "We're going away. Far away where they can never find us!"

The next morning, the four of us were driving in Uncle John's car. We only stopped every so often for a bathroom break. Otherwise, we were driving all day. Finally, that night, we arrived at a shack on the edge of some town next to the sea. Uncle John got out, talked to the man there, and came back to the car. He had a set of keys with him.

"Alright, everybody out. This man has agreed to rent me his cabin for the week. We just need to take this boat to the island in the middle of the sea."

"But John, it's starting to rain," Aunt Samantha protested.

"Then we better get moving now," he said, shooing all of us into the boat.

Half an hour later, we were all soaking wet when we arrived at the cabin. Uncle John unlocked the door and we all went inside.

The place was seriously a dump. The pictures were falling off the walls, the couch was missing a cushion, the paint was shipping, and there was no carpeting. The floor was made of dirt. Lovely.

Later that night, after a fight over it, it was decided that Uncle John and Aunt Samantha would get the bed upstairs, April would get the couch, and I would be forced to sleep on the floor with a blanket.

I laid down in the dirt and glanced at my watch. It read 11:52. Eight minutes until August 9th. Eight more minutes until my 11th birthday. I sighed loudly. It was unlikely that any of them would remember it. Another birthday without presents. Oh well.

I listened outside. The storm was raging. I heard a banging sound in the distance. It was probably the boat hitting the rocks. Wouldn't it be our luck if the boat was destroyed in the storm. Uncle John would probably make me swim back to shore if that happened to get a new boat.

I looked down at my watch again. 11:58. Two minutes. I heard a louder bang. Maybe there was an animal somewhere trying to get out. Who knew.

5,4,3,2,1. Happy birthday to me. The loudest bang so far. It sounded like a gun going off. April fell off the couch, startled. Uncle John and Aunt Samantha rushed down the stairs, awakened by the noise. Uncle John clutched a rifle to his chest. I snorted.

The door to the cabin gave an enormous shudder. Someone wasn't trying to get out. They were trying to get in.

All of a sudden, the door fell off its hinges and an enormous man walked through the archway. He had wild bushy hair and a beard that completely obscured his face. He had on big black boots and a long trench coat. He was enormous, at least twice the size of Uncle John. I had never seen anyone like him in my life.

"Don't worry, I got the door," he said, picking up the door easily and placing it back in the archway. He turned back to face us. "Now I got a letter her for yeh, Alice," he said, looking at April.

"I'm not Alice!" she shrieked, running to hide behind Aunt Samantha.

"O' course yeh ain't." He turned to face me. "Ye're Alice. I knew you's was. Ye're a spittin' image o' yer mother. Got her smile, yeh do. But yeh got yer dad's nose. Ah, come here," he said, reaching out and pulling me into a bone-crushing hug.

"I'm sorry to be rude, but who are you?" I asked, staring at the strange man now sitting on the couch.

"Rubeus Hagrid, Keeper of the Keys and Groundskeeper of Hogwarts."

"I'm sorry, what?" I was pretty sure he just said "Hogwarts." Was that a type of wart people got from pigs?

"Now, you can't tell me yeh've never heard o' Hogwarts."

"Nope. Sorry."

"Well, where do yeh think ye're parents learned it?"

"Learned what?"

"Prunley!" Hagrid thundered. "Are you telling me this girl knows nuthin' about who she is? That she knows nuthin' about her parents?"

"I know they died in a car crash," I said meekly.

"Car crash! A car crash kill Jason and Cynthia Brandon! That's jus' insultin'!"

"Excuse me, but what are you talking about?" I asked Hagrid politely.

"Open the letter."

I looked at the letter in my hands. It was the same one I had gotten a week ago. It was sealed with the letter H surrounded by a lion, a badger, a serpent, and an eagle. I broke the seal and pulled out the letter.

"Dear Ms. Brandon," I read. "We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment. Term begins September 1. Yours Sincerely, Minerva McGonagall, Deputy Headmistress."

"Ye're a witch," Hagrid said, looking at me."

"I'm a what?"

"A witch, and a damn spanking good one, I'm assumin'. Ye're parents were a witch and wizard too."

"I can't be a witch. It's impossible," I stuttered, looking around, waiting for someone to pop out and say how it was a joke for some new TV show.

"Have you ever made something happen when you were really upset or angry? Something you couldn't explain?"

I started to shake my head no, but then I remembered Missy's shoelaces, and April's old sweater.

"See," Hagrid said looking at me. "You _are_ a wizard."

"She won't be going," Uncle John said curtly. "Samantha and I agreed when we took her in that we would put a stop to all this nonsense."

"You knew?" I asked, bewildered.

"Of course we knew!" Aunt Samantha shrieked. "I remember the day y sister got her letter. My family was so happy. I was the only one who saw her for what she really was: a freak. Every year, she went to that school with the other freaks. Then she met that Brandon boy and then they had you. I knew you'd be exactly like them. And then she went and got herself killed, the freak." She swiftly turned away from me.

"If my parents didn't die in a car crash, what happened to them?" I asked Hagrid.

"Yeh mean yeh don' know? I didn't realize how in the dark yeh were, Alice. Well, okay. Ten years ago, there was this wizard. He went bad, as bad as a wizard can go. Mos people don' like ter say the name. Just thinkin' 'bout it gives me the willies."

"What was his name?" I looked at Hagrid and saw him squirming. "Could you write it down?"

"Can't spell it. Alrigh'. His name was _Voldemort_," he let out a violent shudder. "Jus don' make me say it again. Now You-Know-Who was goin' all around the country, gathering followers. Some wanted a bit o' his power, some liked the ideas he was preachin', some were jus plain scared. Some stood up ter him, and he killed 'em. Terrible times. It wasn't safe anywhere. I s'pose the only safe place left was Hogwarts. They always said the only person You-Know-Who feared was Albus Dumbledore.

"Now, yer parents were in the group resistin' him. They was the nicest people I ever met. Good, kind people. People always wondered why You-Know-Who never tried to get them on his side before. I guess he figured they was too close with Dumbledore.

"Anyways, on Halloween ten years ago, he arrived at the village you all lived in. He blasted the door out of the way an' killed yer parents. Guess he figured they was too close to Dumbledore. Then, after they was dead, he turned his wand on you.

"Now, here comes the real mystery. They say that when he raised his wand to kill you, the curse backfired, stripping him of his powers and causing him to disappear."

"Why? What's so special about me?"

"No one knows. He killed some o' the best witches and wizards that ever existed: the Prewetts, Benjy Fenwick, Dorcas Meadowes. But for some reason, that night he tried to kill you he couldn't."

"So is he gone for good now?"

"No one knows. He hasn't been seen since that night. Some believe he's dead. Rubbish in my opinion—he wasn' human enough to die. Some think he's out there, bidin' his time. I don' believe that either. If he was gonna come back, the people on his side would still be out there. Most o' us think he's still out there somewhere, powerless. Something in you destroyed his powers. No one knows why, but after that night, he finally disappeared."

I shivered involuntarily. "What happened after Vol—sorry, You-Know-Who tried to kill me?"

"Well, the house was destroyed. I went there after it happened, brought yeh to Professor Dumbledore and we left yeh here with this lot," he said, jerking his thumb toward the Prunley's who were all sitting in the corner in fear.

"An' now yer finally goin' ter Hogwarts. You wait and see, Alice. Yeh'll be famous there, 'The girl who lived' an' everythin'."

"I already said she's not going!" Uncle John said. "I saw the list. She needs books, equipment, all kinds of rubbish. We won't pay for it."

"Prevent Cynthia and Jason's only daughter from attending Hogwarts? I'd like ter see a Muggle like yerself try!"

"Muggle?" I asked. I'd never heard that word used before.

"Means non-magic folk," Hagrid replied, still glaring at Uncle John. "She's goin' ter Hogwarts, where she'll learn from the best headmaster Hogwarts has ever seen. Albus Dumbledore—"

"I AM NOT PAYING FOR SOME SENILE OLD FOOL TO TEACH HER HOW TO PULL A RABBIT OUT OF A HAT!" Uncle John screeched in Hagrid's face. That seemed like a bad idea.

"NEVER—INSULT—ALBUS—DUMBLEDORE!" Hagrid roared. He reached into his coat, pulled out a pink umbrella, and aimed it at the ceiling. There was a loud bang, then the ceiling collapsed on Uncle John, Aunt Samantha, and April. They all started screaming.

I looked at Hagrid and started laughing. The Prunley's still looked shocked as they tried to get out of the pile of rubble.

"Er, I'd appreciate it if yeh didn't mention this ter anyone. If I'm bein' honest, I'm not really s'posed ter use magic."

"Why not?"

"I was expelled me third year. Well, we bests be going." Hagrid reached down, picked me up, and tucked me into the front of his coat. "Well, look at that. Yer still small enough to fit in my coat."

Hagrid knocked the door over again and the two of us headed back out into the storm, leaving the Prunley's behind.

**Sorry these first couple of chapters are boring. I promise they're going to get much more interesting! I hope you like it so far. Please review!**


	3. Unpleasant Introductions

Chapter 2: Unpleasant Introductions

The next morning, Hagrid and I were walking through London. Hagrid kept talking about Hogwarts while I read the list of things I needed for school.

"3 sets of black robes…a caldron…a wand…Hagrid, can we buy all this in London?" I asked.

"Sure yeh can, if yeh know where to look."

Another problem entered my mind. "Hagrid, how am I supposed to pay for everything? You know Uncle John won't pay for it, and I don't have any money."

"Did yeh think yer parents left yeh with nothin'? First stop is Gringotts."

"Gringotts?" I asked.

"Wizards bank, run by goblins. Never mess with a goblin, might be the last thing yeh ever do. Anyways, yeh'd be mad ter try an' rob it."

"Why?"

"All sorts o' protective enchantments, anti-burglar stuff. Besides, the entire thing is miles underground, so even if yeh did manage to nick somethin', yeh'd starve before yeh made it out. And there's a rumor that there's a dragon guardin' some o' the higher security vaults."

"A _dragon?_" I asked, amazed.

"So they say. What I wouldn't do for a dragon…" Hagrid trailed off, deep in thought.

"You want a dragon?"

"Have since I was a kid."

"Why?"

"Alice, dragons are seriously misunderstood creatures. Jus give 'em a little love an' attention an' they're jus like cats."

I snorted. I could hardly imagine a huge, fire-breathing dragon ever being as sweet as a baby kitten, but I didn't tell Hagrid this.

"Here we are, the Leaky Cauldron," Hagrid said, approaching a run-down pub. I just stood there in the street, staring after him. "C'mon, Alice," he said, yanking my hand and pulling me behind him.

"The Leaky Cauldron's famous," Hagrid was telling me as we entered the building. I didn't see how a place like this could be famous. It looked dingy, old, and unwelcoming.

We walked in and saw the bartender. He was a middle-aged man, bald, and missing three teeth.

"Hagrid!" he greeted us. "How've you been? The usual, I presume?"

"Sorry, no can do today, Tom. On official Hogwarts business," he said, jerking his head in my direction.

"Good lord…can it be…?" Tom the bartender said, staring at me. "Alice Brandon…what an honor…" He then bowed towards me.

I looked around and saw that everyone in the pub was staring at me. No one was saying a word.

An old witch came up to me. "Emmeline Vance, Miss Brandon. It's so wonderful to finally meet you!"

She was followed by a short wizard with many pockmarks on his face. "Elphias Doge. I cannot believe it is really you!" he said, shaking my hand with a lot of enthusiasm.

A tall wizard with a purple turban approached me. "Alice Br-br-br-Brandon. Such a p-p-p-pleasure to m-m-meet you."

"Well, hello Professor! I didn't expect to see you here," Hagrid said, acknowledging the strange-looking man. "Alice, this is Professor Quirell, Defense Against the Dark Arts at Hogwarts."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, sir," I said, holding out my hand to him. He took my hand in his.

_I was standing in a stone room lit by torches. I was facing a large mirror with the words "Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oytr on whosi" engraved across the top of it._

_In front of me, there was a man standing, facing the mirror. The strange thing was, that even though his back was facing me, I still saw his face._

_A grotesque face with red eyes and a slit for a nose was staring at me._

"_I can help you," the face was saying in a weak voice. "I can give you everything you've wanted. I can bring your parents back. All I need is what's in your pocket._

_I reached for the pocket of my robe and felt a hard, circular object in there._

"_That's it, Alice. Hand it over, and everything will be okay."_

_Suddenly, my scar began to burn, there was a flash of green light, and a cold, high-pitched laugh echoed in my head._

"Alice! Alice!"

I opened my eyes and saw everyone from the Leaky Cauldron staring down at me. It was then that I realized I was lying on the ground. My scar was still throbbing.

"Hagrid…what…?"

"Yeh fell down when you shook Professor Quirell's hand. Yeh've been rolling around on the floor for the past five minutes."

"Hagrid, is there a place with a dungeon that has a large mirror in it?" I asked, panicked.

"No, none that I can think of. Why, what happened?"

"I—I—when I fell down, I left the Leaky Cauldron. I was in some place that looked like a dungeon. There was a big mirror there. There was also a man. I didn't see his face, but there was a face growing out of the back of his skull. And then my scar hurt and there was a flash of green light and someone laughing!" I looked around the room, still scared. What if this person was looking for me?

"Ah, I wouldn't worry about it, Alice. Yeh prolly jus had a dream. Nuthin' ter worry 'bout. Well, we best be off. Nice seein' ya Tom, Professor," he said, nodding to the bartender and Professor Quirell. Everyone in the bar, I noticed, was looking at me with worried faces.

Hagrid pulled me out of there and we approached a brick wall. "Hagrid, what are we doing here?" I asked. I was really confused. I didn't see how standing in front of a solid brick was going to help me get my school supplies.

"This is the way ter Diagon Alley," Hagrid said.

"Diagon Alley?" I asked. I had never heard of a place called Diagon Alley before.

"It's the place ter go fer all yer Hogwarts needs," Hagrid said matter-of-factly. He pulled out his pink umbrella from his coat and tapped the bricks on the wall five times: three up, two across. The bricks began swirling until there was a giant hole there. On the other side of the hole, I saw shops lining the street. There were people in different colored cloaks walking along the buildings, occasionally stopping to peer at something in a shop window.

The two of them stepped out onto the street in Diagon Alley and started walking. "First stop's Gringotts, then off ter buy all yer school supplies," Hagrid told me as we passed a shop selling cauldrons. We passed another shop where there was a bunch of kids my age, mostly boys, peering in.

"…the new Nimbus 2000…"

"…fastest ever…"

I shook my head and followed Hagrid. We approached a large marble building and entered. Inside, there was a bunch of tall podiums with strange creatures seated at them. They were all very short, had pointy ears, long fingers, and looked very unfriendly.

"Goblins," Hagrid muttered under his breath to me.

I glanced over at the wall and saw a paragraph engraved on the wall:

_Enter, stranger, but take heed,  
Of what awaits the sin of greed,  
For those who take, but do not earn,  
Must pay most dearly in their turn,  
So if you seek beneath our floors,  
A treasure that was never yours,  
Thief, you have been warned, beware  
Of finding more than treasure there._

Hagrid saw me looking at the warning on the wall. "Like I said, yeh'd be nuts ter try an' rob it."

All of the goblins looked busy. They were either writing something in big, leather books, weighing coins, examining stones, or helping someone. Hagrid spotted a free goblin and we went up to him.

"Morning! We've come ter get dome gold out of Miss Alice Brandon's vault."

"And does Miss Alice Brandon have her key?" the goblin said, looking down nastily at me. My eyes widened and I shook my head no at Hagrid.

"Oh, I has it here somewhere," Hagrid said, digging through the many pockets in his camera. He eventually pulled out a tiny brass key and handed it to the goblin.

He glanced at it for a moment, then said, "Everything seems okay."

"Oh, an' I got a letter from Professor Dumbledore," Hagrid said, pulling out an envelope and handing it to the goblin. "It concerns the you-know-what in vault you-know-which."

"Very well. Griphook will take you down into the vaults."

The two of us followed another goblin into a cart on railroad tracks. He pressed his hand on the control panel, and the cart began to move. The cold air was hitting my face, making my eyes tear. Eventually, it came to a stop.

"Vault 157. Key please," the goblin said, holding out his hand. Hagrid passed him the key and he put it I the opening. The door then swung open. Inside, I saw piles and piles of gold, silver, and bronze coins.

"Wow," I gasped. I had never seen so much gold in my life. All my life, I had lived miserably with the Prunley's, never knowing I had a small inheritance buried under London. Hagrid got out and helped me put some in a moneybag.

"The gold ones are Galleons, the silver ones are Sickles, and the small bronze ones are Knuts. 29 sickles, to a Galleon, 19 Knuts to a Sickle. Pretty easy to remember. There," she said, closing my moneybag, "that should be enough to last you for awhile."

The two of us got back in the cart and it sped off again, going deeper and deeper into the vaults.

"Hagrid, where are we going? What do you need to get?"

"Ah, can't tell yer that, Alice. Secret Hogwarts business."

We arrived in front of another vault after a few minutes.

"Vault 713," Griphook said. He got out of the car and placed one finger on the door of the vault. He gently dragged his finger down the door. "Only the finger of a Gringotts goblin can open the door," he told us. "Anyone else would be sucked in the vault with no way of escaping."

"How often do you check the vault?" I asked him, worried we were going to find someone in there.

"Once every 10 years," he said with an evil laugh. Then, the door swung open. I peered in anxiously, expecting something amazing to be in this vault.

At first, I thought the lot was empty. I didn't see anything when I first looked in. It was really disappointing, seeing as he went to all that trouble to open it. Then, I saw Hagrid walk in and pick something up off the floor.

Hagrid was holding a small brown package in his hands. He hastily tucked it into his coat and got back in the cart. We started speeding off back towards the main area in Gringotts.

"Best not mention this ter anyone at Hogwarts, Alice." I nodded.

After we left Gringotts, we walked back down the road in Diagon Alley. We approached Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions.

"Yeh best go in alone. Madam Malkin isn't a big of mine ever since I knocked over her new display of dress robes," Hagrid said, shaking his head. "I'll jus peak in the Leaky Cauldron for a quick drink and then be back to wait out here for yeh." Hagrid gave me a pat on the back, then walked over towards the Leaky Cauldron. I sighed and walked into the robe shop.

I started looking around the store, feeling a little nervous. A tiny witch peaked out from behind the one rack. "Hello, dear. Hogwarts?" she asked.

I nodded.

"First year?" she asked.

I nodded again.

"Come on back," she said, beckoning me to follow her. "There's a young man being fitted for Hogwarts as well."

She led me to the fitting area and placed me on a stool next to a blond-haired boy.

"Hogwarts?" he asked me.

"Yeah."

"Have we met before? You look kind of familiar…"

I reached my fingers up and brushed my bangs over my forehead, covering my scar. The next thing I needed was a debacle like the Leaky Cauldron.

"Most likely not. This is my first year at Hogwarts."

"Mine too. My parents are out now getting the rest of my things. Mother is off getting my books while father is talking to Ollivander. I'd rather he was out buying me a broom. I'll have to tell him to get me one after this. Do you own a broom?"

The way he was talking reminded me of April when she got in her everything-I-want-is-mine moods, which was all the time.

"No."

"Well, most girls aren't Quidditch players, so I guess you wouldn't."

I didn't say anything, but it irked me how he assumed I didn't play Quidditch (whatever that was) because I was a girl.

"Well," the boy continued, "I do. Father keeps telling me how it will be a crime if I'm not picked to play for the house team. Know what house you're going to be in?"

"No," I said, feeling completely lost in the conversation.

"Well, you can't know for sure, but I know I'll be in Slytherin. All my family has been. I'd just be completely ashamed if I was in Gryffindor. Bunch of brawny fools."

I didn't say anything and just nodded like I knew exactly what he was talking about.

"Would you look at that oaf out there?" the boy said, nodding towards Hagrid, who was now outside the shop. He was holding two ice cream cones; one for him, one for me.

"Oh, that's Hagrid. He brought me here."

"Is he your father?" the boy sneered.

"No. My parents are dead."

"Oh, sorry. But, they were wizards, weren't they?"

"Yes."

"Well, that's good. I don't think they should let the _others_ in. You know, Muggle-borns. Bunch of riff-raff in my opinion. "

"You're all done, dear."

The blonde boy hopped off his stool and strode over to me. "Well, it was nice talking to you. I guess I'll see you at Hogwarts. I'm Draco Malfoy, by the way," he said extending his hand. I took it and was about to introduce myself when the incident from the Leaky Cauldron happened again.

_Draco was sitting in a room in a castle. The room was dark with only a little moon light shining through._

_A husky, muscular guy was sitting next to me. I looked down and saw my hands: they were big and wide._

_I reached up to feel my face. Instead of the slim cheeks I normally had, mine now jutted out into fat, chubby cheeks._

_Draco was looking at me and the other boy. "I already told you, Crabbe. I don't know who it is. My father won't tell me anything about the last time it was opened either. But I do know this: the last time it was opened, a girl died. Some other girl found her body, and the monster disappeared after that. Who knows, maybe the monster of Slytherin will kill someone this time, too. I hope it's a Gryffindor."_

_My scar burned, there was a flash of green light, and a cold, high-pitched laugh echoed in my ears._

"Dear, dear, are you alright?" I opened my eyes and saw Madam Malkin and Draco Malfoy peering down at me curiously. "You were rolling around, clutching your forehead.

"Sorry. Just a headache, that's all." I looked at the floor to avoid their eyes. They probably thought I was mental.

"Well, see you around," Draco said before leaving the shop.

A few minutes later, I was finished. I left the shop and joined Hagrid on the street. He handed me an ice cream cone with vanilla ice cream and strawberries.

"Thanks. Hey Hagrid, can I ask you something?" I asked him, tentatively.

"Sure, Alice."

"Remember when I fell down in the Leaky Cauldron and was rolling around on the floor?"

"Yeah."

"It happened again in there. When I touched the boy standing next to me's hand, the same thing happened. It was like I left the store and was transported somewhere else. Instead of a dungeon, I was in some room. I was someone else this time, and the boy I had just met was talking to me, saying something about the monster of Slytherin. Do you know what these things mean?"

"I wish I could tell yeh Alice, but I can't. It prolly has to do with what happened ter yeh when yeh was a baby. Who knows?" Hagrid shifted uncomfortably.

"Also, what's Quidditch, Slytherin, and Gryffindor?"

"Blimey, I keep fergettin' how much yeh don' know. I mean, not even knowing what Quidditch is! Quidditch is a wizard sport played on brooms, kind of like Muggle soccer. It's kinda hard ter explain. And Slytherin and Gryffindor, along with Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff, are houses at Hogwarts. I always thought the Hufflepuffs were a bit mental…"

"That's where I'll be," I said unhappily.

"Better there than Slytherin. Almost all dark wizards came from Slytherin. You-Know-Who was in Slytherin, and he's as bad as they come. Well, why don't we go get yer wand now?"

I smiled and followed Hagrid down the street. We approached a shop with a large sign that said, "Ollivanders: Makers of Fine Wands Since 382 B.C." I followed Hagrid into the shop.

I looked around the store. It was dark and cramped. Everywhere I looked, there were thin, long boxes. It appeared to be empty; I didn't see anyone in the shop besides Hagrid and myself.

"Hello?" I called out, wondering where this Ollivander was.

An older man with gray hair and sparkling eyes peeped out of one of the long aisles.

"Alice Brandon. I knew you'd come eventually," he said, staring at me.

He held his hand out to introduce himself. "Mr. Ollivander, maker and seller of wands."

I look his hand, and immediately left the little wand shop.

_Mr. Ollivander was lying on the ground in the basement of a house. His eyes were closed and he had a cut on his cheek that was bleeding._

"_Wormtail," a high-pitched voice said somewhere, "go check on our prisoner and see if he is willing to talk now."_

_I heard footsteps on the stairs and a short, stocky man came into the room, holding a wand, the tip illuminated._

_He pointed the wand at Mr. Ollivander and cried, "Crucio!"_

_Mr. Ollivander's screams filled the room. It sounded like he was being tortured, but the man hadn't even laid a hand on him. The man pulled the wand away and Mr. Ollivander's shrieks of pain died down._

"_Are you ready to speak," the man called Wormtail asked, "or would you like another dose of pain?"_

_My scar began to burn, there was a flash of green light, and a cold, high-pitched laugh echoed in my ears._

"Alice! Alice!" I opened my eyes when I heard Hagrid's voice, cancelling out the horrible laughing.

Mr. Ollivander and Hagrid were staring down at me, both with worried expressions on their faces.

"I'm okay," I promised them. Hagrid still looked at me with cautious eyes.

Mr. Ollivander approached me again. "Well," he began, "I've been wondering when you'd be coming to see me. I remember when your mother came in here to buy her first wand. 8 ¾ inches, made of oak and dragon heartstring. Very good for transfiguration. Your father on the other hand, favored a 10 ½ inch wand made of maple and unicorn tail hair. Excellent for charms.

"Well, the wand chooses the wizard, Miss Brandon." He glanced up at my forehead, and sadly shook his head.

"I'm ashamed to say I sold the wand that did that," he said. "13 ½ inches, yew and phoenix feather. Very powerful."

"And Rubeus Hagrid! Oak, 16 inches and unicorn hair. Very bendy. Came in handy when they snapped it in half."

"Yes, sir," Hagrid said. "Still have the pieces though."

"But you don't _use_ them do you?" MR. Ollivander asked, looking sternly at Hagrid.

"No," Hagrid said, turning slightly pink. I saw him tighten his grip on his pink umbrella. I had as feeling that I knew where the pieces to Hagrid's broken wand were.

"Well, let's find you a wand," Mr. Ollivander said. "Here," he said, handing me a wand.

I held it in my hand, unsure of what to do. "What am I supposed to do with this?"

"Give it a wave!" he exclaimed.

Feeling stupid, I took the wand and waved it around.

"Nope!" he said, seizing it out of her hand. He replaced it with another one. "Try this one."

I had just begun to point it at something when the wand was gone. "Let's try another one."

For almost an hour, I tried wand after wand until it felt like I had held every wand in the entire store. "One more," Mr. Ollivander kept saying, replacing each wand with a new one. I was about to give up hope of ever finding a wand, when he placed another wand in my hand. I gave it a wave, and felt a sudden warmness in the tips of my fingers. As I waved it, a burst of flowers shot out of the tip of the wand.

"Oh, wonderful, wonderful!" Mr. Ollivander said, clapping. I waved the wand again, and it felt great.

"Interesting. Very interesting," Mr. Ollivander muttered.

"I'm sorry sir, but what's interesting?"

"7 inches, willow and phoenix feather. Now, I remember every wand I've sold Miss Brandon. Every single wand. Now, the phoenix who gave the feather for your wand gave another feather. Only one. It's interesting that you should be destined for this wand when its pair gave you that scar. Remember, the wand chooses the witch, not the other way around. I expect we'll see great things from you. After all, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named did great things. Terrible," he said, seeing my horrified face, "but great."

I shivered when he said that. I quickly paid for my wand and left the shop with Hagrid. Mr. Ollivander continued to stare at us as we left.

"Well, that's everythin' on the list," Hagrid said. "Wait, I haven't got yeh yer birthday present yet!"

"Oh, Hagrid, you don't have to get—"

"Nonsense!" he said, interrupting me. "I can't imagine yeh ever get many birthday presents living with those dunderheads yeh call yer family."

15 minutes later, we left Eeylops Owl Emporium, holding a cage with a small brown and grey Scops Owl. She was small with big black eyes. I decided to call her Venus after the planet, since she was so beautiful.

The two of us left Diagon Alley through the Leaky Cauldron then headed through London back to Paddington Station. We sat down to grab something to eat before my train left.

As I sat, eating my veggie burger in the station, I thought about how today had been the best birthday I ever had, yet there was still something that didn't feel right.

"Is everythin' okay, Alice? Yeh seem a little quiet," Hagrid said, looking at me.

"It's just…okay, everyone thinks I'm this special witch. I mean, you saw everyone at the Leaky Cauldron, Professor Quirell, Mr. Ollivander, but I don't even remember what I did. I don't know anything about magic, so how am I supposed to live up to this expectation everyone has for me?"

"Yeh don' have anything to worry about, Alice. Everyone is shaky when they start Hogwarts. There are other kids who come from Muggle families. Yeh'll have a great time at Hogwarts. Just be yerself, an' everyone'll love yeh. Oh, here's yer train," he said, eyeing the train pulling into the station.

He helped me get on the train with all my things. "Here," he said, handing me an envelope. "This is yer ticket for the Hogwarts Express. Everything yeh need to know is inside. I'll see yeh at Hogwarts," Hagrid said, smiling at me.

I opened the envelope and pulled out the ticket. On it, it said, "The Hogwarts Express leaves on September the first at 11 am from Platform 9 ¾ from King's Cross Station."

"Hagrid," I said, still looking at the ticket, "there must be a mistake. It says Platform 9 ¾. There _is_ not Platform 9 ¾." I looked up, but saw Hagrid has disappeared.


	4. On the Tracks

Chapter 3: On the Tracks

The few weeks leading up to my departure to Hogwarts were not the most unpleasant months I had spent with the Prunley's. The time I accidentally set April's hair on fire because she ripped up my picture of my parents had been much worse. Then, I had been locked in the closet for a full month.

Now, they all ignored me. I think they were too frightened to say anything to me. Any time April saw me, she ran the other way screaming. She _still_ hadn't recovered from having part of the roof fall on her head.

Instead of interacting with the Prunley's, I spent most of my days reading my textbooks. They were actually really interesting. I started getting really excited to go to Hogwarts so I could learn how to do some of these spells, like the one that made things fly.

Venus would be out hunting during the night, so she would keep coming back with dead mice. It was kind of gross.

The day before the train left, I went and asked Uncle John if he could give me a ride to the station.

"I'll drop you off on my way to work," he grunted. Happy to have that out of the way, I headed back to my room and packed my trunk.

The next day, Uncle John dropped me off at King's Cross Station, unloaded my trunk and owl, then drove away without a second glance. Sighing, I put my trunk and Venus onto a trolley and walked into the station.

I found platforms 9 and 10, but 9 ¾ was nowhere in sight. Remaining calm, I found a guard and asked him where platform 9 ¾ was, but he just looked at me like I was crazy. He had never heard of Hogwarts, then walked away, muttering about stupid kids.

I looked at the large clock, which informed he I had less than 10 minutes to get on the train. Hagrid forgot to tell me how to get onto the platform, and I had no way to ask him now.

Starting to panic, I was about to get my wand out and start tapping the bricks like Hagrid did at Diagon Alley when a large family passed me. "…platform 9 ¾ this way, kids…" the woman said as she passed me. I quickly wheeled my cart around and followed them at a distance.

"Alright, Percy, you go first." I saw the eldest boy walk towards platforms 9 and 10, but then I sneezed. When I looked back, he was gone. "Fred, you go next."

"He's not Fred, _I'm_ Fred," said one of the boys.

"Honestly woman, you call yourself our mother," said an identical boy, shaking his head.

"Sorry, George," said his mother.

He turned his trolley so it was facing platforms 9 and 10, then turned to his mother and said, "Only yanking your wand, I really am Fred." He sprinted for the platform divider with his twin following behind him. I watched carefully, but they were there one minute and gone the next.

The woman was standing there with another boy and a girl. The boy had orange hair like the rest of his siblings, but he girl had flowing blonde locks.

"Excuse me," I said, approaching the three of them. "Could you tell me—"

"How to get on to the platform, dear? Don't worry, it's Ron and Rosalie's first year too. All you need to do is walk straight at the divider between platforms 9 and 10. Don't be nervous, you'll go right through. Why don't you go before Ron and Rosalie?"

I nodded my head, gripped the handle bar of my trolley, and ran straight for the platform divider. I closed my eyes as I approached the wall, expecting to smash into it, but when I opened my eyes, I saw a huge scarlet steam engine. I looked behind me, and where the barrier was, there was a huge sign that said, "Platform Nine and Three-Quarters."

Smiling, I pushed my trolley down the platform. I found an empty compartment at the end of the train. First, I put Venus in there, then started lifting my trunk on the train. Unfortunately, since I was so small, I could barley lift it.

"Need some help?" a voice asked. I looked and saw the twins from the barrier standing there, watching me struggle with my trunk.

"Please," I said, smiling. The two of them hoisted my trunk into the compartment and stowed it away in a corner.

"Thanks I said to them, brushing my hair out of my face. I saw the twins mouths open wide.

"Are you—?"

"She is!"

"What?" I asked, although I had a feeling I knew what was coming.

"Alice Brandon!" they said together.

"Oh, yeah. I mean, yes, I am."

"Wicked!" the one said.

They continued to stare at me, and I was relieved when their mother called out their names. With one last look at me, they left the carriage and went to join their family.

I looked out the window at the family. My heart ached when their mother gave them each a hug and kiss.

"Now you two," she said sternly, "I don't want an owl every other week telling me you've done something ridiculous like stolen a suit of armor, so _behave yourselves!_"

"Mum, we'd _never_ do something like that."

"Honest!"

I saw their mother glare at them.

"Well, look after Ron and Rosie. At least get Percy to look after them. He must be in the prefect's carriage already."

"Percy the prefect. Guess we'll have to start behaving ourselves, won't we, Fred?"

"Looks like it, George, with Percy the prefect breathing down our necks." The twins burst out laughing.

"Hey, Mum, guess who we met on the train? Remember the girl standing by us in the train station? Know who she is?"

I shrank down in my seat so they couldn't see me.

"_Alice Brandon!_"

"Is she really? How do you know?"

"Asked her. Saw her scar. It's really there."

"That's why she was all alone, poor angel. She was so kind and well-behaved."

"Who cares about that. I wonder if she remembers what it feels like to get cursed!" Fred exclaimed.

"Fred Weasley!" his mother said crossly. "Don't you _dare_ ask her that, do you understand me?"

"Yes, Mum."

"Now get on the train, all of you," she said, giving them all a kiss goodbye.

The train began to leave the station, and I saw their mother waving goodbye. As the train got farther away, she got smaller until she completely disappeared.

I relaxed in my seat and looked out the window, picturing what Hogwarts might look like. Suddenly, the door to the compartment opened.

"Do you mind if I join you?" the blonde girl from the platform asked. "Everywhere else is full or has older kids." She smiled meekly at me.

"Sure," I said. She smiled and sat down across from me.

"Are you really Alice Brandon?" she asked suddenly.

"Yeah," I said, moving my bangs to the side to show her my scar.

"Whoa. Sorry, I didn't mean to ask like that, but my brothers like to play jokes that on us."

"It's fine."

"I'm Rosalie Weasley, by the way," she said, extending her hand. I grabbed it, and instantly left the Hogwarts Express.

_Rosalie was dressed in a pink ruffled dress that looked like it belonged in the 18__th__ century. She had her hair curled and pinned on top of her head. Even though the dress was hideous, she still looked stunning._

_She was in a room that was decorated with huge ice sculptures, lots of food, and music._

_All around her, people were dancing together to a slow song. She glanced around, looking for someone._

_A big, muscular guy with black curly hair came up to her. She smiled when she saw him and took his hand._

_The two of them walked on to the dance floor and began twirling. People moved to the side when they saw them. They didn't want to stand next to two people moving with such grace and elegance._

_I looked to my left and saw a man with grizzly hair, a mangled nose, and a fake eye sitting at a long table._

_There was a flash of green, my scar began to burn, and my ears filled with a cold, high-pitched laughter._

I opened my eyes and saw Rosalie looking at me curiously.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine. It's nothing."

"Are you sure?" she asked. "You were rolling on the floor while your eyes rolled to the back of your head."

"Really?" I asked.

"Yeah. It was kind of creepy."

"I don't know what it is. That's the fourth time it happened. Every time I touch someone's hand, it's like I leave where I am and go somewhere else."

"Where did you go this time?" she asked.

"It was a room with ice sculptures and food and music. You were there. Your dress was kind of ugly, but you looked so pretty. You were dancing with this big muscular guy with curly hair.

To my surprise, her face turned bright red.

"What?" I asked her.

"That guy you just described? That's one of Fred and George's best friends. His name's Emmett Cullen, and I've kind of been in love with him since I met him."

"Really?"

She nodded. "What does what you saw mean? Maybe it shows you what the person wants, since I've _always_ wanted to dance with Emmett."

"I don't think so. I saw Mr. Ollivander in another one and he was being tortured. I don't think that's what he wants."

"Maybe you're seeing the future!" she gushed. "Oh, that's so cool!"

"Yeah, I guess, except the fact that I drop on the floor anytime somebody touches my hand."

Rosalie started laughing. "Hey, it makes for a good conversation starter."

"So you have four brothers?" I asked, trying to steer the conversation away from myself.

"Ugh, no. I have _six!_ Charlie's studying dragons in Romania and Bill works for Gringotts in Egypt. They're all older than me too!"

"But isn't your one brother starting Hogwarts this year too?" I asked. I specifically remember her mom saying her and the other red-haired boy were starting.

"Well, we're in the same year, but he's almost a year older than me. He's going to be 12 at the end of September, while I'll be 12 in July."

"So are all your family wizards?"

"Uh, I think so. There might be a Muggle or two somewhere, but I've never met them."

"So you must know a ton of magic already."

"Not really. I heard you've been living with Muggles. What's that like?"

"Miserable. At least my aunt, uncle, and cousin are. You're lucky you get to live in the wizarding world. I wish I had a bunch of older brothers who were wizards."

"Do you remember your parents at all?" she asked.

"No. The only thing I remember from before is green light and someone laughing."

"Weird."

"So are you excited for Hogwarts?" I asked her.

She shrugged her shoulders.

"Why not?"

"It's just that since I have so many older brothers, they've all done everything. Charlie was Quidditch captain, Bill was head boy, Percy's a prefect, Fred and George are funny and everyone likes them. If I get good marks, it won't be a big deal since they've all done it before. I mean, I don't even get new things. I have Charlie's old wand, Bill's old cauldron, and some of Percy's old books. I don't even get a new animal! Since Percy got a new owl, I got his old rat since Ron didn't want it." She reached into her pocket and pulled out an old brown rat. "This is Scabbers. Pathetic looking, isn't he?"

"Hey, you shouldn't feel bad. For most of my life, I never had anything new. I was always given my cousin's old things, and she's about a foot taller and wider than me."

Rosalie laughed.

"I mean, I didn't even know I was a witch until Hagrid told me a few weeks ago. I didn't know about my parents or Hogwarts or Voldemort—"

Rosalie gasped loudly. "_You said You-Know-Who's name!_" she shrieked.

"Oh, yeah. See what I mean? I've never really been taught not to say it. I don't know anything. I'll probably be the worst in the class," I said miserably.

"I doubt it. There are loads of kids who come from Muggle families. They don't know any more than you."

Suddenly, the door to our compartment flew open and slammed shut. A bronze-haired boy was standing there, looking terrified.

"Do you mind if I hide in here for as bit? I'm being chased and I'd rather not start the year at Hogwarts with a black eye."

"Sure," I said. "Who's chasing you?"

"Some kids name Crabbe and Goyle. They look pretty stupid, but they're _huge_! I only just got away."

"_Why_ are they chasing you?" asked Rosalie, sounding a little suspicious.

"Uh, I might have said they looked like a baboon's butt," he said, grinning.

Rosalie and I looked at each other, than started cracking up.

I brushed my bangs to the side and the boy gasped.

"Oh my gosh, you're Alice Brandon!" he whispered.

"Yeah. Who are you?"

"Edward Cullen."

"You're _Emmett's_ brother?" Rosalie asked.

"Yeah, so?"

"I'm Fred and George's little sister."

"No way!" he said.

"Way."

The door to our compartment opened again, and Fred, George, and Emmett walked in.

"Told you we weren't lying!" one of the twins said. All three of them were looking at me.

"Nice guys. You know, she's not something to be looked at like a attraction. She's a person," Rosalie said, scolding them.

"Sorry, Alice. We haven't properly introduced ourselves. I'm Fred, this is my twin George, and this is our friend Emmett."

"Nice to meet ya!" Emmett boomed.

"Where's Jasper?" Rosalie asked.

"With Lee. They have a tarantula with them and they're trying to enchant it so it dances."

"Idiots," Edward muttered.

"Well, we're gonna go and see how they're doing with that. Nice to see you again, Alice," Fred said, waving. The three of them left the compartment and walked down the corridor toward another compartment where we could hear laughter.

"Whose Jasper?" I asked Rosalie.

"Fred, George, and Emmett have two other friends: Lee Jordan and Jasper Hale. The five of them are like this group of Hogwarts troublemakers." Rosalie shook her head.

"They thrive on doing stupid things, like blowing up toilets," Edward said.

Rosalie, Edward, and I all started cracking up.

"What do you mean, blow up a toilet?" I asked.

"Last year, Emmett sent me a toilet seat and a letter explaining how he acquired it. After his stint with Dr. Filibuster's wet-start fireworks and destroying the fifth floor boy's bathroom, he got detention for the rest of the year. I think he's still got more this year."

"So, what house do you think you'll be in?" Rosalie asked Edward.

"I _hope_ I'm in Gryffindor. Emmett would never let me hear the end of it if I ended up in Slytherin." He shook his head. "What about you?"

"Well, all my family's been in Gryffindor, so I hope that's where I end up. I mean, if I was in Ravenclaw, it wouldn't be horrible. What about you, Alice?"

"Honestly, I don't know. Hagrid told me the names of all the houses, but I don't know anything about them. All I know is Vol-sorry, You-Know-Who was in Slytherin."

"Yeah. My dad said almost all wizards who come out of Slytherin end up bad."

The door to our compartment opened again, and an elderly witch was there, pushing a trolley filled with all kinds of sweets. "Anything from the cart, dears?"

I had never had pocket money before. I walked up to cart, expecting to buy as many Hershey bars as I could, but saw instead Chocolate Frogs, Bertie-Bott's Every Flavored Beans, Pumpkin Pasties, and other types of candies I had never seen before.

I bought some of everything and walked back into our compartment.

"Wow, you must be _really_ hungry," Edward joked.

"I'm not going to eat it all, you prat! I bought this for all of us to share."

"Wow, thanks Alice!" Rosalie exclaimed, throwing the sandwich her mother packed her on the seat.

The three of us dug into the sweets. My first Chocolate Frog jumped out the window. I had a Licorice Wand and a Pumpkin Pastie, but lost my liking for Bertie-Bott's Every Flavored Beans after eating a vomit-flavored one.

An hour later, the compartment door opened again. I expected to see Fred and George Weasley again, but instead, it was three boys. I recognized the one as Draco Malfoy.

"So it's true, then. Alice Brandon is finally going to Hogwarts. This is Crabbe and Goyle. There's another girl named Pansy Parkinson who I want you to meet. You don't have to stay here with this riff-raff. Come to our compartment and see what _good_ wizards are like, not the scum wizards."

"Who are you calling scum?" Edward asked, rising to his feet.

"Let me guess: Edward Cullen. Yes, my father told me _all_ about your family. I'd be a good boy if I were you unless you want everyone finding out about your mother."

Edward closed his mouth and sank back into his seat, looking at the floor dejectedly. Crabbe and Goyle eyed him menacingly, obviously still miffed about his "baboon butt" crack earlier.

"And who are you?" Rosalie asked defiantly.

"Draco Malfoy."

"Oh, _my_ father's told me _all_ about the Malfoy family. Guess your father wasn't too happy when his old pal You-Know-Who disappeared, was he?"

"At least my father can afford me a new wand and equipment. I don't need to use the stuff my older brothers used. Even though you don't look like the rest of them, it's so obvious you're a Weasley."

Rosalie glared at him. "If you're done insulting us, why don't you leave?" I said to Draco. I didn't like him at all. He was obnoxious, mean, and rude.

"Well, we don't feel like leaving, do we boys? No, we're still hungry, and it looks like you've got a lot of food," Malfoy said, reaching for a Chocolate Frog. Suddenly, the carriage was filled with his scream. I looked and saw Rosalie's rat, Scabbers, hanging off his index finger. He swung it around wildly until Scabbers flew off and hit the window. Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle ran out, muttering about rats in the food.

"Scabbers! Scabbers! I think he's been knocked out! No, I can't believe it! He's fallen back asleep," Rosalie said, dumbfounded.

I looked down and saw that Scabbers was sleeping on the seat, unfazed by everything that had just happened.

I looked out the window again, and was shocked to see that it was dark out. We must be getting close.

"Hey, you lot," Emmett said, sticking his head into our compartment. "We're gonna be there soon. I'd change if I were you."

The three of us changed out of our Muggle clothing into our wizarding robes. Shortly afterwards, a voice filled the train. "Leave your trunks and other belongings on the train. They will be brought to your rooms during the feast."

The train came to a stop, and all of us got off. I looked around with Rosalie and Edward, unsure of where to go.

"Firs' years! Firs' years o'er here!" a familiar voice called. I looked over and saw Hagrid standing by a lake, holding a lantern.

The three of us walked over to Hagrid, along with all the other first years.

"All righ', Alice?" Hagrid asked.

I smiled and nodded at him.

"Alrigh', four to a boat. Is that all the firs' years? Okay, _forward!_" On his command, all the boats began moving.

I was in a boat with Rosalie and Edward and another girl named Isabella. The four of us were talking excitedly about Hogwarts.

"Jus up here yeh'll be able to see yer firs' glimpse o' Hogwarts," Hagrid called out into the night. We looked into the sky and saw we were approaching a huge castle, illuminated by the moon.

A few minutes later, all the boats touched onto the shore and we all got out.

"Hello, Hagrid," a stern voice greeted us.

"Got the firs' years righ' here, Professor McGonagall," Hagrid said to the woman.

"Thank you, Hagrid. I'll take them from here." She turned to us. "Everyone line up and follow me into the castle.

Still chatting excitedly, I lined up behind Rosalie and in front of Edward and Isabella. We entered the castle in the line. I looked up at the chandeliers hanging from the ceiling.

I was here.


	5. Hogwarts

Chapter 4: Hogwarts

Professor McGonagall led us into a hall in the castle. At the front of the hall, there were two large ornate doors. On the other side of the door, we could hear lots of people talking. I assumed it was the rest of the school.

"In a moment, I will lead you into the Great Hall, where you will join the rest of the school for the start-of-term banquet. Before you take your seats, you will be sorted into your houses. There are four houses at Hogwarts. They are Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Each house has its own noble history. While you are at Hogwarts, your house will be like you family. Together, you will work together to earn points to win the house cup. Triumphs will earn you points while any rule breaking will lose you points.

"I will return when we are ready for you." Professor McGonagall left the little hallway, leaving all of us here to worry.

"How do they sort us?" I asked Edward.

"Dunno. Emmett said it was some kind of test to show if we're worthy or not. I think he said something about a vampire, but he was only joking. At least, I _hope_ he was joking." Edward began looking at people nervously.

I looked to my left and saw Rosalie and Isabella, the girl who shared our boat, talking.

"…Fred was saying something about performing a spell to Ron, but I think he was kidding."

"Well, I really hope I'm in either Gryffindor or Ravenclaw. They sound like the best houses."

"I just can't be in Slytherin. My whole family's been in Gryffindor, and they would all make fun of me if I was in Slytherin." I saw her shudder.

I just stood there, carefully breathing in and out, trying to remain calm.

I was staring at the wall when I felt something hit me on the head. I felt my hair, and was shocked to realize I was drenched in water. I looked up and saw a little man in dark tights with a wide mouth floating above us. In his hands, he had an armful of water balloons. That must have been what hit me on my head.

He began hurling them at us. All the girls began shrieking as he cackled.

"PEEVES!" I looked over and saw that Professor McGonagall had reentered the hall. She was staring up at the little man with fury in her eyes. "Be gone before I have to get the baron!"

He stuck his tongue out at her, then zoomed off into the castle.

"The Sorting Ceremony's about to begin. Please follow me." She opened the doors and we all followed her in. On either side of us were long tables, filled with students. They were all staring at us.

She brought us to the front of the hall, right in front of the teacher's table. We all stood there, silent and nervous. Professor McGonagall brought out a small stool and placed an old hat on top of it.

Everyone began staring at the hat. I wondered what the hat had to do with the sorting.

Suddenly, the brim of the hat opened wide and it began to sing:

"**Oh, you may not think I'm pretty,  
But don't judge on what you see,  
I'll eat myself if you can find  
A smarter hat than me.  
So put me on! Don't be afraid!  
And don't get in a flap!  
You're in safe hands (though I have none)  
For I'm a Thinking Cap!"**

Everyone began to applaud wildly when the hat finished its song.

"So we just have to put the hat on," Rosalie whispered to me. I smiled. That was much easier than performing a spell in front of the whole school.

Professor McGonagall walked over to us with a scroll in her hands. "When I call your name, you will come up to the stool to be sorted. Abbott, Hannah!"

"HUFFLEPUFF!" the hat shouted. Hannah Abbott went to the cheering Hufflepuff table.

"Bones, Susan!" A brown-haired girl walked up to the hat. She also became a Hufflepuff. Terry Boot was next, and he became the first new Ravenclaw.

"Brandon, Alice!"

I took in a deep breath and walked up to the stool. All around me, I could hear whispering.

"Did she say Alice Brandon?"

"The _famous_ Alice Brandon?"

I sat on the stool, facing the entire school. The last thing I saw before the hat covered my eyes was every single person in the Great Hall, straining to get a look at me.

"Hmm," a voice said in my ear. "Difficult, very difficult. Lots of courage. Not a bad mind, either. There's plenty of talent, and—that's interesting—a desire to prove yourself…where to put you…"

_Not Slytherin_, I thought. After everything I'd heard about that house, it was the one place I didn't want to be.

"Not Slytherin, eh? You could be great, you know, and Slytherin could help you on the way to greatness, no question about that—no, well if you're sure—GRYFFINDOR!"

I heard the Great Hall erupt in applause. I jumped off the stool and joined the cheering Gryffindors. Percy got up and shook my hand. This time, I felt the trance coming, and I concentrated on remaining on my feet.

_I was standing in some kind of office. There were many silver objects all around me. An old man with silver hair and a long, silver beard was standing in front of me._

_Next to me, there was a girl I had never seen before. On either side of us, there were adult wizards. One man had a lime-green bowler._

"_Cornelius," a wizard said, "look what they've named themselves." He held up a piece of paper that said, "Dumbledore's Army."_

"_Well, the jig is up. Would you like a written confession from me, or will a verbal one suffice?"_

"_What are you talking about?" the man with the bowler asked._

"_You can see for yourself. The parchment says, 'Dumbledore's Army,' not 'Brandon's Army.'"_

"_Weasley, make sure you are getting this all down."_

"_Yes sir!" an eager voice said. I looked over to the right and saw Percy standing there, a hungry look on his face._

"_Professor—" I said, unsure of why._

"_Please be quiet, Alice, or I will have to ask you to leave._

"_Yes, be quiet, Alice!" the man in the bowler snapped at me. _

_There was a flash of green light, my scar burned, and a cold, high-pitched laugh echoed in my ears._

I opened my eyes, and saw Percy looking at me strangely. "Are you alright, Alice?"

"Fine," I said, gasping. "Just a minor headache." The Weasley twins and Emmett patted me on the back as I took my seat at the table. Across from me, a bay with blond hair was staring at me. When he caught my eye, he gave me a smile. I felt myself blush.

"Cullen, Edward!" I heard Professor McGonagall call. I looked up and saw Edward sit on the stool. As soon as the hat touched his head, it shouted, "GRYFFINDOR!"

Emmett began cheering loudly, and when Edward joined us at the table, he punched him in the shoulder. Edward sat down next to me and gave me a high five.

"Malfoy, Draco!" I looked us as Draco Malfoy approached the sorting hat. I crossed my fingers, praying he wouldn't be a Gryffindor. The hat barely touched his head when it shouted, "SLYTHERIN!"

I looked over and saw the table at the edge of the hall cheering. Everyone at the table had a sour expression on their face. They didn't look like the type of people I'd like to be friends with.

"Swan, Isabella!" The brown-haired girl from our boat was now approaching the hat. She looked like she was talking to herself. She pulled the hat over her head. The Sorting Hat took almost a minute before it finally cried, "GRYFFINDOR!" I cheered with the rest of the Gryffindors as Isabella sat down next to me.

"Good job," I whispered to her. She shot me a warm smile.

There were only three more people left to be sorted. A red haired boy, a black haired boy, and Rosalie.

"Weasley, Ronald!" Rosalie's brother walked up to the hat. I looked down the table and saw the Weasley twins and Percy staring anxiously at him.

"GRYFFINDOR!" Everyone began cheering as Ron joined us at the table. Percy gave him a hug while Fred and George gave him high-fives.

"Weasley, Rosalie!" I looked up and saw Rosalie sitting on the stool. She looked extremely nervous. She was gripping the side of the stool as she placed the hat on her head.

"GRYFFINDOR!"

I clapped loudly as Rosalie ran to the table to join her brothers, a huge smile on her face.

Finally, "Zambini, Blaise," became the last Slytherin. Everyone was now sorted and seated at their house tables.

I looked in front of me at the gold plate. It was empty. I wondered when we would be able to eat.

An old man with silver hair and a long beard stood up from the staff table. He was seated in the large gold chair at the center of the table.

"Who's that?" I whispered to Rosalie.

"Albus Dumbledore," she said, shocked. "He's only the greatest headmaster Hogwarts has ever had!"

"Welcome!" he said in a voice that didn't match his appearance. It was strong, not frail like I would have imagined. "Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! Before we begin our banquet, I would like to say a few words. And here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak!"

I laughed nervously as everyone else in the Great Hall cheered. I looked up at the staff table and saw Albus Dumbledore's blue eyes staring at me. I looked down self-consciously, and was stunned to see that all the plates on the table were now filled with food.

I had never seen so much delicious food in my life. At the Prunley's, I only got scraps of food. I had never had a real meal in my entire life. Now, on gold platters in front of me, there was chicken, roast beef, lamb chops, bacon, pudding, potatoes, peas, cinnamon apples, turkey, ham, biscuits, and every other food I could imagine.

I took a little of everything and piled it on my plate.

"That looks wonderful," a ghost sitting at the table said sadly.

"Can't you eat?" I asked him.

He looked at the food again. "No. I haven't eaten for over 400 years. I don't need to, but I do miss it," he sighed. "I don't believe I've introduced myself. Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington, resident ghost of Gryffindor Tower."

"Hey," Edward said with his mouth full, "I know who you are! Emmett told me all about you. You're Nearly Headless Nick!"

"_Nearly_ Headless? How can you be _nearly_ headless?" I asked.

"Like this," he said, gripping the top of his head and pulling it to the left. His head hung to the side of his body, connected by a few inches of skin. A few girls screamed. I just looked, shocked.

Nick smiled and tilted his body so his head slid back on top of his neck. "Well, I hope you first years are going to help us win the house cup! Gryffindor has never gone so long without a victory. The Bloody Baron—the Slytherin house ghost—is becoming impossible to be around."

I looked over at the Slytherin table and saw a ghost, covered in silver blood with chains draped all over his body. I was glad he was not next to me.

After a while, the food disappeared from the plates and was replaced with all kinds of desserts. There was apple pie, éclairs, chocolate custard, tapioca pudding, jam tarts, ice cream, fudge in every imaginable flavor…

I took a slice of apple pie and turned to all the other first years who were talking about their families.

"I'm Muggle born," Isabella Swan was saying. "It was a surprise when the representative from Hogwarts showed up at my house and gave me my letter."

"My mom's a Muggle. I'm not sure about my dad, he left when I was a baby," Dean Thomas said.

"Me and my brother were raised by our grandparents," Edward said.

I just kept my eyes down, focusing on my food. The trust was, it made me sad to hear everyone talk about their families when I really didn't have any.

I glanced back up at the staff table. I saw Hagrid, and he waved at me. I smiled at him. Professor Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall were talking. I saw Professor Quirrell talking to a man with greasy black hair and a hooked nose.

He looked me in the eyes with his cold, black eyes, and a sharp pain shot across my forehead.

"Ow," I said, grabbing my forehead.

"What's wrong?" Emmett asked, looking at me.

"Nothing," I lied. "Hey, Emmett, who's that man talking to Professor Quirrell?"

"Professor Snape. World's biggest git. He teaches potions, but it's common knowledge that he's been after the Defense Against the Dark Arts job for years. No wonder Quirrell looks nervous."

"Why?"

"Well, that's what Quirrell teaches, but everyone knows Snape knows a lot about the Dark Arts."

I looked down at my plate again. All the food had disappeared, just as the first course had. Professor Dumbledore got to his feet.

"Ahem," he said, clearing his throat. "Just a few more words now that we are all fed and watered. I have a few start-of-term notices to give you. First years should note that the forest on the grounds is forbidden to all pupils. And a few of our older students should remember that as well.

He looked over towards Fred, George, and Emmett. The three of them bumped fists.

"I have also been asked by Mr. Filch to remind you all that no magic should be used between classes in the corridors. Quidditch trials will be held in the second week of the term. Anyone interested in playing for their house teams should submit their names to their heads of houses. Finally, I must tell you that this year, the third floor corridor on the right hand side is out of bounds to everyone who does not wish to die a very painful death."

I laughed nervously, but I was one of the few people who did.

"Is he serious?" I whispered to Percy.

"Must be. He usually gives a reason. The forest is full of dangerous creatures, everyone knows that." He shook his head. "I would have thought he would have told us prefects, though."

"Now, bedtime! Off you go."

Everyone rose from the tables and began leaving the Great Hall. All of the Gryffindor first years followed Percy out. He led us up the stairs to the end of a corridor. Hanging there was a portrait of a very fat woman in a flowing silk gown.

"Password?" she said. I looked at her, stunned. I had never seen a painting speak before.

"Caput Draconis," Percy replied. She nodded her head and swung open, revealing a hole in the wall. We all scrambled into the Gryffindor common room. There were cozy armchairs, a few couches, and some tables, all lit by a roaring fire.

"Girl's dormitories are up the staircase on the right. Boy's, the same on the left."

Rosalie, Isabella, three other girls, and myself walked up the spiral staircase to our dormitory. Once we were up there, we introduced ourselves.

"I'm Rosalie Weasley. My idiotic brothers are all here too, but please don't judge me on their behavior." We all laughed when she said that.

"Isabella Swan, but you can call me Bella. I'm first in my family to come here."

"Me too!" the girl with bushy hair said. "Hermione Granger," she said, shaking Bella's hand.

"I'm Lavender Brown."

"Parvati Patil. My twin sister, Padma, got sorted into Ravenclaw."

"And you all know who I am," I said, flashing them my scar. They all giggled.

I looked over and saw my trunk and Venus had already been brought up to my room. I pulled out a nightgown and pulled it on, then hopped into bed. I pulled on the covers and quickly fell asleep.

********

"There she is!"

"Where?"

"With the blonde girl and the bronze-haired boy."

"Did you see her scar?"

Everywhere I walked, whispers followed me. People kept peering around corners, standing on tiptoes, and lining up outside my classes in an attempt to get a look at me.

It was flattering, but I was having a hard enough time finding my way without people staring at me everywhere I went.

It was impossible to find your way. The staircases constantly changed where they were going, dome doors only opened if you asked them, and the people in the portraits kept moving to visit one another.

The ghosts were helpful to point us in the right direction, but Peeves led you to locked doors and down trick staircases. He liked throwing chalk and paper at us and sneaking up behind people, invisible, just to scare us.

Filch, the caretaker, was the worst. He was the most knowledgeable about the secret passageways (except for Fred, George, and Emmett) and always popped up when trouble was going on.

All of my classes were really hard. History of Magic, the most boring class, was the only one taught by a ghost. Professor McGonagall taught Transfiguration, and she gave us a huge pile of homework. In Charms, Professor Flitwick gave me a huge smile when he called my name.

In Defense Against the Dark Arts, Quirrell seemed as nervous as he did in The Leaky Cauldron. His room smelled similar to garlic, and Emmett swore it was because he had met a vampire, so he needed to protect himself.

Friday, I sat down at breakfast between Rosalie and Edward. They were now my two best friends. Sometimes, we hung out with Bella, but she tended to spend most of her time with Hermione Granger.

"What do we have today?" I asked them, pouring some milk into my oatmeal.

"Double Potions with the Slytherins," Edward groaned.

"What's wrong with that?"

"First, it means we'll have a double period with Malfoy. Second, Emmett told me Snape favors the Slytherins—he's their Head of House."

Just then, the mail came. I looked up and saw Venus flying with the rest of the owls. She hadn't brought me anything yet, so I held out my arm as she landed on it. She held out her leg and I gently removed the scroll from it. I gave her some bacon as I read the letter:

**Dear Alice,  
I know you get Friday afternoons off, so would you like to come and have a cup of tea with me around three? I want to hear about your first week. Send your answer back with Venus.  
Hagrid**

I grabbed my quill out of my bag and wrote, _Yes, see you then_ on the back of the note. I sent Venus back on her way.

"Hey do you mind if I come?" Rosalie asked. "Fred and George are always telling me about Hagrid."

"Yeah, me too," Edward said.

"Sure, I don't think Hagrid will mind."

The three of us said goodbye to Fred, George, and Emmett as we headed down to the dungeons for potions.

We entered the room, and I began shivering. Maybe it was the fact that the room was ten degrees colder than all my other classes, or maybe it was the fact that I had the impression that Snape disliked me.

Snape entered the dungeon, his black cloak billowing behind him.

He started the class by calling roll. When he got to my name, I saw him smirk. "Ah, yes. Alice Brandon. Our new _celebrity_."

I heard Draco Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle sniggering at the bench next to me.

Once Snape finished calling roll, he began talking about the art of potion making, hw it was different than all other kinds of magic.

"Alice!" he called out. I looked up at him, my blue-green eyes meeting his cold, black stare. "What would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?"

What?

Huh?

"I don't know, sir."

"Tut, tut—clearly fame isn't everything." Malfoy and his friends began shaking with laughter. Snape gave them a small smile, then turned back to me. "Let's try again: where would you look if I told you to find a bezoar?"

Again, I had no clue what he was talking about. I glanced at Rosalie, but she just shook her head. I saw Bella and Hermione both had their hands in the air.

"I don't know, sir."

"Didn't think of opening a book, did you?"

What, did he expect me to remember everything from _One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi?_

He glanced over at Bella and Hermione, but ignored them. "What is the difference between monkshood and wolfsbane?"

Hermione and Bella were both raising their hands higher, trying to get Snape's attention.

"I'm not sure, sir, but both Bella and Hermione look like they know."

Rosalie and Edward began laughing, along with the rest of the Gryffindors.

"Stay in your seats," he spat at the two girls. They both shrank down, looking embarrassed. "Asphodel and wormwood make a sleeping potion so powerful it is known as the Draught of the Living Death. A bezoar is a stone from the stomach of a goat that can be used as an antidote to most poisons. Monkshood and wolfsbane are the same plant, which also goes by the name of aconite. Why aren't all of you copying this down?" he snapped when he saw all of our blank faces.

I reached into my bag and pulled out a piece of parchment and a quill.

"And I'll take a point from Gryffindor for your sass, Miss Brandon," Snape sneered at me.

After we took notes, Snape separated us into pairs and had us brew a potion used to sure boils. Rosalie and I were paired together while Edward was paired with Dean.

Snape patrolled the class, criticizing everyone's potion except Malfoy's. He was complimenting Malfoy on his perfect aroma when a dark cloud of smoke rose over Edward and Dean's cauldron. I heard a hissing noise before the cauldron melted into a blob and their potion spread across the floor.

Rosalie and I shrieked and jumped onto our stools. The rest of the class followed suit.

"Foolish boy!" Snape said, clearing away the potion. "You added the porcupine quills before taking the cauldron off the fire." Dean nodded carefully. I looked at him and saw his face was covered in large, red boils. "Take him to the hospital wing," Snape said to Edward.

The two of them left the dungeon while Snape approached Rosalie and me. "Miss Brandon, why didn't you tell him not to add the quills? Thought you might make yourself look better, did you? Well, that's another point from Gryffindor."

I just looked down, determined not to lose any more points.

"Don't worry about it," Rosalie told me as we left the dungeon. "Fred and George are always losing points because of Snape. Fred told me he once lost 10 po9ints because he called Snape an ugly git."

I laughed at that as we headed out onto the grounds to meet Hagrid for tea.

"Hey guys, wait up!" I spun around and saw Edward walking towards us. The three of us made our way to Hagrid's cabin.

I knocked on the door, and heard a dog bark.

"Back, Fang," I heard a gruff voice yell. "Back, yeh dozy dog." Hagrid opened the door and let us in.

"Hagrid, this is Rosalie Weasley and Edward Cullen," I said, introducing them.

"Cullen an' Weasley, eh? I spend most o' my time chasing yer brothers away from the forest." He chuckled as he gave us each a cup of tea and a rock cake."

As we sipped our tea and pretended to eat Hagrid's rock cakes, we told him all about our lessons. I told him all about Snape's lesson.

"Ah, I wouldn't worry 'bout it. Snape dislikes most o' the students here."

"But he really _hates _ me!"

"I doubt that," Hagrid said, not meeting my eyes.

"How's yer brother, Charlie?" Hagrid asked Rosalie. "I heard he was workin' with dragons."

Rosalie told Hagrid all about Charlie's work in Romania while my eyes drifted to the paper sitting on the table. I picked it up and read the front page article:

**GRINGOTTS BREAK IN**

_**Investigations continue into the break in at Gringotts on 8 August, believed to be the work of Dark wizards. Gringotts goblins insisted nothing was taken. The vault in question had, in fact, been emptied earlier that day.  
"But we're not telling you what was in there, so keep your noses out if you know what's good for you," a Gringotts spoke-goblin said today.**_

August 8th was my birthday. On that day, Hagrid had emptied a vault at Gringotts. The same day, someone had tried to rob a recently vacated vault. Coincidence? I think not.

"Hagrid!" I said. He looked at me. "The Gringotts break in, it happened on my birthday! We could have run into the thief while we were there!"

Hagrid definitely avoided my eyes now. He went back to talking with Rosalie about Charlie.

An hour later, the three of us headed up to the castle. The entire time, I was thinking about tea with Hagrid. Had Hagrid emptied the vault just in time? If so, where was the package he had collected now? And what did Hagrid know about Snape that he was keeping from me.

I pondered this as I walked into the castle for dinner, listening to Edward and Rosalie's chatter.


	6. Lucky Breaks

Chapter 5: Lucky Breaks

"You've _got_ to be kidding me!" Edward groaned as we entered the common room after lessons one day.

"What is it?" I asked, curious.

"We start flying lessons Thursday," he glumly.

"Isn't that a good thing? You're always talking about flying and Quidditch. Here's your chance to show off your skills."

"We have them with the Slytherins.

"You've _got_ to be kidding me!"

"My point exactly."

"What's up?" Rosalie said, climbing through the portrait hole.

"Flying lessons with the Slytherins," I said unhappily.

"You've _got_ to be kidding me!"

"This is just what I want," I said, staring at the ground. "To make a fool of myself on a broomstick in front of Malfoy and the rest of the Slytherins."

"You don't know that," Rosalie said sympathetically.

"Yes, I do. I've never been on a broomstick before. I'm probably going to fall off before I even get off the ground."

The next week, everyone kept talking about flying. Every time I passed Malfoy in the corridors, he was telling some epic story about how he evaded Muggles in tanks by flying away on his broom.

Edward told me how he used to break into the shed at the back of his house and use Emmett's broom. "He was never going to teach me, so I taught myself," he said, laughing.

"I've never ridden a broom," Rosalie said. "My stupid brothers never let me anywhere near theirs because they said it was 'too dangerous' for me."

Hermione and Bella had checked out _Quidditch Through the Ages_ from the library and were digesting it, looking for tips on how to fly. Unfortunately for them, you couldn't learn to fly from a book.

"What's that?" I asked Dean. He was holding a round object in his hand. It was black and white.

"Oh, it's a keychain of a football."

"What's a football?" Edward asked, confused.

"You've never heard of football?" Dean asked, shocked. "It's only the greatest game around. There're these players on the field. And they kick this ball around, trying to score goals…"

"It sounds kind of boring. Quidditch is so much better!"

Dean shrugged his shoulders and went back to eating his breakfast.

That afternoon, we all walked down the front steps to where we were having our first flying lesson. When we arrived, the Slytherins were already there. Malfoy was telling another death-defying tale of him flying, with Pansy Parkinson and Millicent Bulstrode hanging on to his every word.

Madam Hooch walked onto the field. She had short grey hair and gold, squinty eyes that reminded me of a hawk.

"Everyone stand by a broom," she ordered. We all walked over and stood by one of the school brooms lying on the grass. They looked old and worn. Mine's handle was chipped and the twigs were bent.

"Stick your right hand over the broom and say 'UP!'"

"UP!" I shouted, along with everyone else. To my utter surprise, the broom flew right into my hand. I looked around, but mine was one of the only ones that did. Edward's and Malfoy's had jumped up, but Rosalie's hadn't moved and Bella's had just jerked slightly to the left.

Then, she showed us how to mount the brooms. I smiled when she told me my grip was perfect, and told Malfoy he had been doing it wrong.

"Now, when I blow my whistle, you kick off from the ground. Keep your broom, steady, rise a few feet, and then come back down by leaning forward slightly. Three—two—"

Before she blew her whistle, Dean Thomas rose in the air on his broom. I think he was afraid of being the only one left on the ground.

He looked terrified in the air.

"Mr. Thomas, come down at once!" Madam Hooch ordered. Dean tried to bring the broom back to the ground, but it didn't work. He ended up falling off the broom when it was about 10 feet in the air.

"Ow," he moaned. Madam Hooch ran over to him.

"Oh, dear, looks like a broken wrist. Here, let me bring you to the hospital wing." She turned to face the rest of us. "Everyone is to keep both feet planted firmly on the ground until I return of you'll be returning home on the Hogwarts Express faster than you can say 'Quidditch.'"

She led Dean back into the castle while everyone stood there. When she was out of sight, the Slytherins burst into laughter.

"Did you see his face? The big klutz," Malfoy laughed.

"Shut up, Malfoy," Lavender said, glaring at him.

"Ooh, never pictured you liking a Muggle-born, accident-prone goof," Pansy Parkinson shrieked. Lavender turned bright red.

"What's this?" Malfoy asked, picking u something from the grass. It was Dean's football keychain. "It's that stupid Muggle thing Thomas always carries around."

"Give it back," I said quietly, looking Malfoy straight in the eye.

"Hmm, I don't think so. I think I'll put it somewhere for Thomas to find," he sneered, hopping on his broom. "How about the roof?" He started ascending into the air, heading towards the roof of the castle.

I grabbed a broom off the ground and jumped on it, but someone put their hand on my shoulder.

"Don't," Bella said, looking me in the eyes. "You'll get us all into trouble, and you don't even know what you're doing!" I ignored her and pushed off from the ground like Madam Hooch told us.

I flew up into air easily. I was shocked I was able to fly so well without having even been on a broom before. It was wonderful having the air rush around you. I turned to face Malfoy.

"Give it back, or I'll knock you to the ground! No Crabbe and Goyle to protect you up here." Malfoy looked around, worried, when he realized there was no one to stop me from knocking him off his broom.

"Have it your way," he said, throwing the keychain. I sped off after it, diving towards the ground. I reached my hand out and caught it. I pulled the broom up so I wouldn't crash into the ground, then jumped off my broom. Everyone was sheering for me.

"ALICE BRANDON!" Professor McGonagall shouted, running towards me. Crap.

"_Never_—in all my—you could have—follow me now!" She was so mad, she could hardly form coherent sentences. Hanging my head, I followed her into the castle.

I looked back at the group: Harry and Ron were staring at me in awe, Rosalie and Edward looked worried, and Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle looked triumphant.

I followed her down the halls, wondering where she was taking me. I knew I was about to be expelled. I wondered what Uncle John would say when I turned up at his house after only a few weeks of school. We stopped at a classroom and she opened the door.

"Excuse me, Professor Vector, may I borrow Wood please?" Great, she was going to beat me with a stick before she expelled me.

Instead, a cute guy walked out of the classroom, looking confused.

"Follow me, Wood. You too, Alice." The two of us walked behind Professor McGonagall into her empty classroom. She turned to face us.

"Alice, this is Oliver Wood. Wood, I've found you a Seeker."

"Seriously?" he asked, looking excited.

"Yes. She's a natural. I've never seen anyone with such potential. She caught that thing in her hand after a 50-foot dive. Charlie Weasley couldn't have done it. Was that your first time on a broom?"

I nodded, looking a little confused.

"Wood's captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team."

"She's got the right look for a Seeker—small, light—she'll need a decent broom, Nimbus 2000 if you can—"

"I'll see what I can do." She looked at me again. "I want to hear that you are training hard, or I may decide to punish you after all. Your parents would be proud. They were both excellent Quidditch players."

***

"_Seriously?_" Edward asked me at dinner. "You _can't_ be serious! You _have_ to be joking!"

"No, it's true."

"But first-years never make the house team."

"I know. Wood said I'm the youngest in a century. I start next week, but don't tell anyone. Wood wants it to be a surprise for our first match."

Fred, George, Emmett, and the blond boy who smiled at me during the start-of-term feast came up to me.

"Hey, Alice," Fred greeted me. "This is Jasper," he said, gesturing to the blond boy. "Way to go," he said in a quiet voice.

I looked at him, confused.

"Wood just told us you've been made Seeker. We're all on the team—George and I are Beaters. Emmett and Jasper are Chasers. "

"We're gonna win that cup this year," Emmett said to Fred. "You heard how excited Wood was—you must be incredible, Alice. We haven't even had a shot since Charlie left."

"Well, we've got to go. Lee thinks he found a cross between a dragon and a cat."

"Do you know how wicked that would be?" Jasper asked as the four of them walked away.

"Boys," Rosalie muttered under her breath. I looked and saw her face was slightly pink. I noticed every time Emmett was anywhere near her, she began blushing furiously.

"Just tell him you like him," I told her under my breath. She shook her head.

"He only sees me as his best friends' little sister, and that's all he'll ever see me as," she said sadly, pushing her potatoes to the side of her plate.

After dinner, Edward, Rosalie, and I went to the library for a bit to work on our homework. At the table next to us, Bella and Rosalie were sitting, arguing about something.

"Do you know the wand movement for a switching spell?" I asked Rosalie. She shook her head, then crossed something out in her essay for Professor Quirrell.

"Fine!" I heard Bella shout. She got up from her table and stormed out of the library, leaving a stunned Hermione still sitting at the table.

"Ugh, this isn't working!" I groaned in frustration, throwing my quill on the table. "I can't concentrate. I'm going back to the common room."

"Me too," Rosalie sighed. Edward agreed, and the three of us packed up our stuff and climbed the stairs to Gryffindor tower.

"Hey, Rose, how about a game of chess?" Ron asked Rosalie when we got back.

"Ron, why do you even bother? We both know I'm going to win." He glared at her. "Fine." She went over and started playing chess with her brother.

"Shoot," I said, digging through my bag.

"What is it?" Edward asked.

"I think I left my transfiguration homework in the library. Professor McGonagall will murder me if I don't have it done for tomorrow. Do you think I could go get it without Filch spotting me?"

"Maybe. I'll come with you." Rose and Ron were still playing chess, but other than them, the common room was empty.

Quietly, Edward and I snuck out the portrait hole.

"Where are you guys going?" I turned around and saw Rosalie standing there.

"I left something in the library."

"Well, don't leave me behind with the captain of the dorksquad. I'm coming too."

"Well, be quiet," I hissed at her. The three of us walked down the stairs from Gryffindor tower—and ran into Bella Swan.

"_What_ are you doing out here?" she asked.

"Why do you care?" Edward said rudely. He didn't really like Bella, he told me. He said she was a stuck-up know-it-all.

"I was…none of your business. You still didn't answer my question." She glared at Edward.

"None of your business."

"Well, you _can't_ be caught out of bed! You'll get Gryffindor into trouble and loose all the points I earned today from Professor McGonagall for being the only one able to turn my match into a needle!"

I ignored her and kept walking.

"Don't you _care_ about Gryffindor at all? Don't you want to win the house cup?"

"Would you shut up? I think I hear something!" Everyone stopped talking, and I listened carefully.

"What's that, my sweet? Did you hear footsteps over there? We'll catch those naughty students," I heard Filch muttering to Mrs. Norris. Edward, Rosalie, and Bella all looked petrified.

"This way," I mouthed, pointing around the corner. We tiptoed carefully, not making a sound—until Bella knocked a suit of armor onto the ground.

"RUN!" I yelled. The four of us sprinted down the hall, around a corner, up a set of stairs, down another hall, until we finally came to stop by Professor Quirrell's class.

"I think—we—lost him," Rosalie panted.

"C'mon, let's go before someone else turns up here and expels us all," I said. We walked a couple feet before a door opened and Peeves floated out in front of us. He clapped his hands together when he saw us.

"Peeves, shut up, you'll get us in trouble," I hissed at him.

"Wandering around at night, are we? Tut, tut, naughty, naughty, you'll get caughty."

"Not if you don't _tell_ anyone. Please, Peeves," Bella begged.

"—really should tell Filch. It's for your own good."

"Get out of the way!" Edward said, trying to push him to the side. Bad idea.

"STUDENTS OUT OF BED! STUDENTS OUT OF BED BY THE DEFENSE AGAINST THE DARK ARTS ROOM!" he bellowed.

"GO!" I shrieked. The four of us ran again to the end of the corridor. There, we ran into a locked door.

"We're done for," Rosalie moaned. "This is it. We're all going to be expelled."

"Move out of the way," Bella hissed. Grabbing her wand, she pointed to the doorknob and said, "_Alohamora_!"

The lock clicked and I pulled the door open. The four of us ran in the room and shut the door. I pressed my ear to the door to hear what was going on in the corridor.

"Where are they, Peeves?" Filch wheezed. "Tell me!"

"Say 'please.'"

"I don't have time for this—WHERE ARE THEY?"

"I won't say nothing unless you say 'please.'"

"Fine—please."

"NOTHING! Ha ha told you I wouldn't say nothing unless you said please!" Peeves started laughing. I heard his laughter and Filch's swearing get quieter as they left the corridor.

"Phew, that was close. Good thing this door was locked," Edward sighed.

"It's locked for a reason," Rosalie said in a small, terrified voice. I turned to look at her, and my mouth fell open.

Standing in front of us was an enormous three-headed dog. Its six eyes were fixed on the four of us. By some miracle, we hadn't been killed yet, but the dog looked like it was getting to that part next.

"LET'S GET OUT OF HERE!" Edward yelled. I threw open the door and we ran out of there as fast as we could. Bella slammed the door behind her. We ran back to Gryffindor tower as fast as we could.

"Where have you been?" the Fat Lady asked, looking at the four of us. "Do you know what time it is?"

"Never mind—pig snout," I gasped. She swung forward and we all fell into the common room.

"What the hell are they doing, keeping something like that trapped in a room? If any dog needs exercise, it's that one!" Edward said, horrified.

"You're so stupid, didn't you notice what it was standing on?" Bella snapped.

"The floor? I don't know, I was too busy starting at its heads to worry about its feet. It had THREE in case you didn't notice!"

"Not the floor, it was standing on a trap door! Obviously, it's in there to guard something." She glared at the three of us again. "Well, I'm going to bed before you find another way to get me killed or expelled." She turned on her heels and went up to the dormitory.

"Did she say it's guarding something?" I asked Rosalie and Edward. They nodded. "Listen, when I went to Gringotts with Hagrid this summer, he emptied a vault. It was a small package. Later, someone tried to hide that vault. Hagrid said he was getting something for Dumbledore. Maybe that's what the dog is guarding?"

"Maybe…" Edward said, looking at me unsurely.

"Oh, Alice!" someone said, coming down the boys' stairs. I looked over and saw Jasper Hale from the Quidditch team. "Here," he said, handing me a piece of paper. "You left this in the library today, so I brought it back for you." He gave me a smile and walked into the boys' bathroom.

I looked at the paper and sighed. I was almost _killed_ for nothing.

The next day, Rose, Edward, and I headed down for breakfast, talking about last night.

"Well, what could it be?" Rosalie asked.

"It has to be something really valuable if it has a vicious dog guarding it," Edward said.

"Or really dangerous," I added.

We didn't know much about the package, only that it was round and about two inches long. It could be anything.

Bella was so mad, she refused to speak to any of us, which made Edward happy.

During the week, when we weren't doing homework, the three of us tried to figure out what the dog could be guarding.

"Maybe it's some kind of jewel?" Edward suggested.

"No, I don't think so. Why would they have a dog guarding something just because it's worth a lot of money?"

"Maybe it's a powerful weapon!" Rosalie said.

"Why would they hide it at a school?"

I shrugged my shoulders. It was frustrating not to know what was under the trap door.

The next day, I got a package at breakfast. It was a long parcel that was carried by six owls, and a letter to go with it. I opened the letter:

DO NOT OPEN THE PARCEL AT THE TABLE!  
It contains your Nimbus 2000, but I don't want everyone knowing you have one or they'll all want one too. Wood will meet you on the Quidditch field at seven tonight.  
Professor M. McGonagall

Edward and Rosalie wanted to see it before our first lesson, so we headed back to Gryffindor Tower. Before we got out of the Great Hall, Malfoy stopped us.

"You're in trouble now, Brandon. That's a broomstick. First years aren't allowed broomsticks!"

"It's not just _a_ broomstick, it's a Nimbus 2000!" Edward said, smiling at Malfoy.

"Something wrong, kids?" Professor Flitwick asked, coming up to us.

"Alice has a broom!" Malfoy said accusingly.

"Yes, yes, Professor McGonagall told me. Special circumstances…what model is it?"

"A Nimbus 2000, sir," I said, fighting back laughter at Malfoy's horrified face.

Edward, Rosalie, and I brought the broom back to Gryffindor tower. "I really should thank Malfoy. After all, I wouldn't have it if it wasn't for him."

***

After I started Quidditch practices, school seemed to speed by. I looked at my calendar and saw I had been here for almost two months.

In Charms on Halloween, Professor Flitwick said we were going to be making things fly today. He put us in pairs (I was with Rosalie, luckily, while Edward was paired with Bella). Edward watched Rosalie and I glumly as Bella ordered him around, telling him how to do the spell.

"Stop, stop, you're going to poke my eye out!" she shouted, as he swung his arm around. "It's swish and flick. Besides, you're saying it wrong. It's Win-_gar_-dium Levi-_o_-sa."

"You do it, then," Edward growled.

"_Wingardim Leviosa!_," she said, swishing and flicking her wand. The feather on her desk rose into the air.

"Oh, wonderful!" Professor Flitwick squeaked. "Everyone, look. Miss Swan has done it." Bella smiled triumphantly at Edward while Professor Flitwick praised her.

"She's a total nightmare," Edward vented as we left the room. "No wonder no one can stand her. She acts like a know-it-all!"

I felt someone bump into me as we walked to Gryffindor Tower—it was Bella, and she was crying.

"She heard you," I muttered to Edward.

"So? She must know nobody likes her. Her only friend ditched her!"

I didn't see Bella that afternoon, and she wasn't in the Great Hall for the Halloween feast either.

"Lavender, have you seen Bella?" I asked her as I put some mashed potatoes on my plate.

"She's in the girls' bathroom, crying. She's been there all day, and she won't talk to anybody."

I looked at Edward. "You should go apologize to her," I said under my breath.

He shrugged his shoulders and went back to eating.

Suddenly, the doors burst open and Professor Quirrell came sprinting into the Great Hall, a look of terror on his face.

"TROLL! In the dungeon—thought you should know," he said weakly before falling to the floor.

"Troll?"

"Did he say a _troll_?"

"Oh my gosh!"

Everyone in the Great Hall was starting to freak out.

"Silence!" Professor Dumbledore's voice rang through the Great Hall. We all turned to look at him. "Prefects, lead your houses back to the dormitories. Teachers, follow me to the dungeons."

Percy immediately stood up and took charge. "Gryffindors, follow me! First years in the front. No need to worry. Just follow me and you'll be safe."

"How did a troll get in?" I asked Rosalie.

"No idea. They're supposed to be really stupid."

"Maybe Peeves let it in as a joke," Edward suggested.

I froze.

"What is it, Alice?" Rosalie asked.

"Bella—she doesn't know about the troll."

"Fine, but we can't let Percy see us," Rosalie said. We joined a group of Hufflepuffs, then stole down a deserted corridor. We heard footsteps coming around the corner.

"Quick, hide!" Edward hissed.

We looked and saw Snape walk across the corridor, then disappear.

"Isn't he supposed to be with the other teachers? Why is he here?" I asked.

"Dunno. Hey, do you guys smell something?" Edward remarked, making a disgusted face.

We peered around the corner and saw a huge creature walking down the corridor. It was about 10 feet tall, had greenish-grey skin, a bald head, lumpy body, and was dragging a large wooden club.

"Ugh, it smells _awful!_" Rosalie hissed.

We watched the troll walk into a room. "Hey, let's lock it in!" Edward suggested. The three of us crept down the hall, slammed the door shut, and locked it.

"Woo! Way to go!" I said, high-fiving the other two. We then heard an earth-shattering scream.

"Bella!" we all said simultaneously.

We unlocked the door and ran inside. Bella was scrunched in the corner, hiding under the sink. The troll was moving towards her, knocking toilets and sinks out of its way.

"What do we do?" Edward asked.

"Confuse it!" Rosalie said.

I picked up a tap off the ground and chucked it at the troll's head. He turned and looked at me, then deciding I looked more appetizing, he started moving towards me.

"Hey, numskull!" Rosalie shouted. The troll looked around confused until it spotted her. I ran over to Bella and grabbed her hand.

"C'mon, get up!" I said, pulling her. She stayed frozen on the ground.

Oh no, not now.

"_No!" Bella shouted at a shabby-looking man. Edward, Rosalie, Bella, and I were in some kind of shack. I had never seen the room before. In front of us, there were two men. One looked a little shabby. The other had mangy hair and looked like he hadn't bathed in months._

"_I trusted you!" she shouted."And it turns out, you're working with him! You want Alice dead! Well, I'm not covering for you anymore. He's a werewolf, Alice. That's why he's been missing class and looking so sick."_

"_Not up to your usual standards, Miss Swan. Only one out of three. I am not working with Sirius and I certainly don't want Alice dead. How long have you known?"_

"_Since I did the essay for Professor Snape," Bella said smugly._

"_Well, Severus will be pleased. He was hoping someone would realize the indications of a werewolf were the same things I was suffering. You know, you really are the brightest witch I've ever met."_

_There was a flash of green, my scar burned, and a cold high-pitched laugh echoed in my ears._

I felt something grab my waist, and then I was lifted off the ground. I looked in front of me and saw the troll was staring at me. I looked down and saw he was holding me, his club lying forgotten on the floor.

"Help me!" I cried.

"_Wingardim Leviosa!"_ Edward shouted, pointing at the club. It rose into the air and fell on the troll's head. He dropped me, then fell to the floor.

"Is it…dead?" Bella asked in a small voice.

"No, I think it's just unconscious," Edward said, helping Bella to her feet.

Suddenly, the door flew open. Professors McGonagall, Snape, and Quirrell rushed into the room. I didn't realize how much noise we had been making. They saw the troll on the floor, then us, standing over it. Edward's wand was still in his hand.

"Explain yourselves!" she ordered, looking furious.

Snape looked at me. I had the impression he was reading my mind.

"Please, Professor, it's my fault," Bella said. The three of us looked at her, shocked. "I went looking for the troll. I read about them, and thought I could handle it. If it hadn't been for Alice, Edward, and Rosalie, I'd be dead."

"Well…Miss Swan, you were a very foolish girl, thinking you could tackle a 10-foot mountain troll all by yourself. Five points will be taken from Gryffindor for your serious error in judgment. You may return to Gryffindor tower." She left.

"As for you three, you were very lucky. Not many first years could take on a fully grown mountain troll. You will each receive five points. You may leave."

The three of us walked back to the Gryffindor common room.

"We should have gotten more than five apiece," Edward complained.

"Just be happy she didn't take any points away," I said. "Lucky Bella covered for us."

"Well, she should have. We saved her life, after all."

We climbed through the portrait to the full common room. Everyone was finishing the feast here. I spotted Bella standing by the fire, waiting for us.

"Thanks," she said quietly.

We nodded. "Well, let's get some food before Fred and George eat it all," joked Rosalie. Bella smiled at her, and we all grabbed some food and sat at an empty table, talking about knocking out trolls.


	7. Severus Snape: Evil Doer?

Chapter 6: Severus Snape: Evil Doer?

After Halloween, I only had about a week until my first Quidditch match. It was huge, since Gryffindor was playing Slytherin. If we won, we would be in second place.

Nobody besides the Gryffindor Quidditch team had seen me play since Wood wanted to keep my Seeker abilities a secret, but people still found out I was playing for Gryffindor somehow.

Everyone from Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, and Hufflepuff kept telling me I'd be great, but the Slytherins assured me they'd be running around the field holding a mattress.

Bella was becoming an asset to my success at Hogwarts. She helped me complete all my homework that I didn't have time for with the extra Quidditch practices. She also gave me _Quidditch Through the Ages_ to read.

The day before the match, Bella, Rosalie, Edward, and I were standing outside around some flames Bella had conjured, keeping warm. Snape started crossing the Quad, limping. We moved close to each other, hiding the flames, since I was positive it was against the rules.

Snape, spotting me, came over, trying to find some way to get me into trouble. "What's that?" he asked, pointing to the book Hermione lent me. I showed him the book. "Library books aren't to be taken out of the castle. Five points from Gryffindor!" He snatched the book out of my hand and limped away.

"What's wrong with his leg?" Bella muttered.

"Dunno, but I hope whatever it is, it's really hurting him," Edward said grumpily.

The four of us made our way back inside and up to the common room, where we began working on our homework. Bella was checking Edward's Transfiguration homework while I paced.

"C'mon Bella, let me copy one inch…" Edward was pleading.

"No! If I let you copy, how will you ever learn?" The two of them kept bickering in the background while Rosalie played chess with Seamus.

"Checkmate!" Rosalie said triumphantly as her queen destroyed the only piece remaining between her and Seamus' king.

"Why did I even agree to play you?" Seamus groaned.

"Because you wanted to beat me. But you forgot one thing?"

"What?"

"I'm Rosalie Weasley, and no one beats me in chess!" She smiled as she packed away her chessmen. I continued pacing.

"What's the matter, Alice?" Rosalie asked.

"I'm kind of nervous about tomorrow in case you can't tell, and Snape took my book away. I think I'm going to go ask him if I can have it back."

"Your funeral," she muttered as I exited the portrait hole. I walked down to the dungeons and knocked on Snape's door. There was no answer.

_Maybe he left it in his room_, I thought to myself. Quietly, I opened the door—and froze.

Snape was in his room; his robes hiked up above his knee, having Filch bandage his bloody leg.

"—blasted thing! How are you supposed to keep your eyes on all three heads?" Snape said to Filch as he winced in pain.

Keeping my eyes off Snape's mangled leg, I quietly shut the door. Unfortunately, Snape saw me.

"BRANDON!" he shouted, his eyes filled with hate.

"I—I—my book—" I stuttered as his face turned red.

"GET OUT! _OUT_!"

I didn't need him to tell me twice. I sprinted from the room, the image of his bloody leg burned in my mind. I climbed through the portrait hole, still out of breath.

"Did you get it?" Rosalie asked, looking up. "Oh my god, what happened?" she asked, taking in my flushed face and wide eyes.

She and I walked over to Bella and Edward, and I quietly told them about Snape's leg and what he had said to Filch.

"You know what this means," I told them. "Snape tried to get past that dog on Halloween. I'd bet anything he let that troll in to distract the castle and try to get past the dog. He's trying to steal whatever it's guarding!"

"No," Bella said unsurely. "I know Snape is mean to you, but I don't think he would try to _steal_ something Professor Dumbledore wants kept safe."

"Bella, you're so naïve," Edward snapped. "You've seen hoe evil Snape is. I wouldn't put it past him to try and steal whatever is under that trap door."

"What do you think the dog's guarding?" Rosalie asked. I shrugged my shoulders. After that, the four of us headed to bed. Bella and Rosalie fell asleep instantly, but I stayed awake, thinking.

What could the dog be guarding? And why did Dumbledore want is protected by a dog with three heads? I fell asleep, my head still filled with questions.

***

I woke up the next morning, tired and nervous.

I trudged down to breakfast with Rosalie, Bella, and Edward. They all began eating, but I just stared at my plate.

"Alice, you have to eat something," Rosalie protested.

"I'm not hungry."

"How about a slice of toast?"

"Rosalie, I can't eat anything." The truth was I was nervous I would throw up if I ate anything.

"Alice, you need your strength. Seekers are always the ones who get beat up on by the other team," Harry Potter said with his mouth full.

"Thanks, Harry," I said, feeling sicker.

I felt Rosalie scoot down as someone joined us at the table. They put an arm around me. I looked up and saw Jasper with his arm around me, boring into me with his bright blue eyes.

He leaned close to me and put his lips next to my ear. "You'll do amazing, Alice. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise. I'll see you in the locker room." He kissed me on the forehead, then pulled his arm off me and walked away from the table.

"What was that about?" Rosalie asked.

"I don't know," I said. I touched my hand to my forehead, where Jasper's lips had just been. I smiled. "Well, I'm going to head down to the locker room. I'll see you guys after the game." I waved bye to Bella, Rosalie, Edward, and the rest of the Gryffindors.

Once I made it to the locker room, I changed into my scarlet robes and sat down. Outside, I could hear people talking. The whole school must be here.

Oliver stood up and cleared his throat. "Okay, men."

"And women," Angelina added. She turned and smiled at me.

"And women," Wood added.

"This is it," Fred said.

"The big one," George added.

"The one we've all been waiting for," said Emmett.

"We all know Oliver's speech by heart. We were on the team last year, too," Jasper whispered in my ear.

"Would you guys shut it?" Wood snapped, looking at Jasper, Emmett, and the Weasleys. "Look, this is the best team Gryffindor has had in years. We're going to win!" He glared at every single one of us, saying 'or else' with his eyes. "Good luck, all."

I followed Jasper and Emmett out of the locker room and onto the field. I heard the loud cheers and the boos and hisses as we walked onto the pitch. I saw Madam Hooch, standing next to a broomstick. She must be refereeing.

"I want a clean game from all of you," she said to Wood and Marcus Flint, the Slytherin captain. "Mount your brooms." I climbed on my Nimbus 200, then shot into the air when she blew her whistle.

"—and the Quaffle is taken by Angelina Johnson of Gryffindor—and excellent Chaser and extremely attractive—"

"JORDON!"

"Sorry, Professor."

I looked into the commentator's box and saw Lee Jordon commentating, with Professor McGonagall supervising.

"A pass to Emmett Cullen, who passes to Jasper Hale, back to Johnson, back to—no, intercepted by Marcus Flint of Slytherin. He's speeding towards the Gryffindor end, he's going to sc—no! Keeper Oliver Wood blocks him. Wood passes to Hale, who passes to Cullen. Cullen heading towards Slytherin's goal posts—ouch, that looks like it hurt, hit by a Bludger aimed his way by Slytherin. Adrian Pucey takes the Quaffle, but he's stopped by a Bludger sent at him by one of the Weasleys. Johnson with the Quaffle again, dodges a Bludger—she shoots—SHE SCORES!"

I could hear the Gryffindors cheering, and the Slytherins moaning. I stayed where I was. Wood had told me to stay out of the way until I saw the Snitch so I wouldn't get hurt before I had to. When Angelina scored, I flew in a small circle, then went back to searching for the Snitch.

"Slytherin in possession, Pucey ducks a Bludger, dodges Hale—wait a sec—was that the Snitch?" I saw Pucey drop the Quaffle as a flash of gold flew past his ear. I sped off towards it. Terrence Higgs, the Slytherin Seeker, was right behind me.

I was faster than he was. I reached my arm out—almost there—

WHAM!

I clutched my broom to my body as I spun off course. Marcus Flint had blocked me on purpose. The Gryffindors were screaming in outrage while the Slytherins cheered. Madam Hooch gave Flint a warning, then let Jasper take a free shot on the goal, but the Snitch disappeared.

Jasper gave me a smile as he flew past me. Why did my heart always go into overdrive every time he looked my way?

"So—after that obvious and disgusting bit of cheating—"

"JORDAN!"

"I mean, after that open and revolting foul—"

"_Jordan I'm warning you—_"

"Okay, fine. Flint almost kills Alice Brandon, which could happen to anyone, probably. Jasper Hale takes the penalty shot and scores no problem. Gryffindor in possession."

Suddenly, my broom lurched to the left. Then, it went forward, and back to the left again. What was going on?

My broom kept shifting side-to-side, front and back, like it was trying to beck me off. Why was it doing this? Brand new brooms didn't try to eject their riders, did they?

I felt my body start sliding, so I hugged myself closer to the handle of my broom. Jasper and Emmett flew next to me, trying to pull me onto one of their brooms, but every time they got close, my broom would rise ten feet in the air.

Instead, they flew beneath me, hoping to catch me if I fell off.

My broom kept jerking. My grip slipped, and I fell off. I grabbed the handle and was dangling above the field. I opened my mouth to scream when something flew into my mouth. It was bigger than a bug, but not furry like a bird. I felt my fingers slipping, when the broom stopped vibrating. I was able to swing myself back onto my broom.

Once I was on, I flew towards the ground and spit whatever was in my mouth into my hand. I looked down and saw the Golden Snitch, lying in my hand. I held it up for the crowd to see, and heard Madam Hooch's whistle sound. The rest of the team landed next to me. Jasper picked me up and pulled me into a hug. I felt my heart race and my face heat up.

_Jasper was standing in one of the corridors of the school. Instead of looking calm like it normally did, it was full of disarray._

_There were hooded figures, shooting spells at other wizards. Jasper was dueling with a huge cloaked wizard._

"_Crucio!" the hooded wizard bellowed. I saw Jasper dodge the spell and aim his wand at his dueling partner. _

"_Stupefy!" he cried. His spell missed. The wizard pointed his wand at Jasper, and a gash appeared on his cheek._

_He clutched his face as blood poured onto his robes._

"_Stupefy!" another wizard cried, coming up behind the hooded figure. He collapsed onto the ground. I saw one of the Weasley twins come forward and help Jasper off the ground._

_There was a flash of green light, my scar burned, and my ears filled with a cold, high-pitched laugh._

I opened my eyes, and the rest of the team was giving me a group hug.

When the team finally put me down, I saw Bella, Rosalie, and Edward waiting for me. The four of us headed down to Hagrid's hut, where he made me a cup of tea.

"It was Snape!" Edward exclaimed.

"What are you talking about?" I asked.

"Snape, he was the one messing with your broom. The three of us saw him. He was muttering some kind of curse and he wouldn't take his eyes off you."

"That's ridiculous," Hagrid said. "Why would Snape want to harm Alice?"

I looked over at Bella, Rosalie, and Edward. "I found out something about him. He tried to get past the three-headed dog on Halloween. I think he was trying to steal whatever the stone is guarding."

"How the hell do yeh know about Fluffy?"

"_Fluffy?_" we all screeched.

"Yeah, he's mine. I lent him ter Dumbledore ter guard—I shouldn't have said that."

"Go on," I said, trying to get Hagrid to say more.

"Don't go meddling in this business. It don't concern yeh."

"But Snape is trying to _steal_ it!" Bella protested.

"Nonsense. Snape's a teacher. He would never do something like that."

"Then why did he try and kill Alice? Listen, I've read all about jinxes. You have to keep eye contact and Snape _wasn't blinking!_"

"Yer wrong. I don't know why Alice's broom acted all funny, but Snape would never try an' hurt a student. Now I want yeh to ferget all about this and that dog. What it's guardin' is between Professor Dumbledore an' Nicolas Flamel."

"Nicolas Flamel?" I asked.

"I shouldn't have said that."

***

The holidays were finally approaching. The grounds were covered in snow, and classes were miserable in the bitter cold. At least the common room and the Great Hall were heated with fires.

Earlier this week, Professor McGonagall came around with a list for people staying for Christmas break. I signed up immediately. I thought I would be alone, but Rosalie and her brothers were staying too since their parents were going to Romania to visit Charlie.

Edward and Bella were both going home for the holidays. Bella wanted to see her father, and Edward said something about having to spend time with his grandparents.

On the last day before the holidays, Rosalie, Edward, Bella, and I were walking to the Great Hall after potions when we ran into Hagrid carrying a large pine tree.

"Hello, Hagrid," I greeted him.

Just at that moment, Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle walked past us. Malfoy made a rude gesture towards Edward. Edward dived towards Malfoy—

"CULLEN!" We turned around and saw Snape standing in the corridor. "Fighting is against Hogwarts rules. Five points from Gryffindor." He smirked as he walked away.

"I'll get that squirmy little git one of these days. One more crack about my family—"

"Cheer up, yeh lot. It's almost Christmas!"

"You're right. Guys, we should really get down to the library," Bella said, grabbing me by the arm.

"Library? What more do yeh need to study fer?"

"Ph, we're not studying," Edward said matter-of-factly.

"Yeah, ever since you mentioned Nicolas Flamel, we've been searching for him," Bella added. Hagrid's face went red.

"I told yeh—drop it. It don't concern yehs."

"We just want to know who he is," I said innocently.

"Unless you'd like to tell us and save us all the trouble," Rosalie added.

Hagrid put his fingers to his lips and turned them, indicating he wasn't saying anything.

"We'll just have to find out for ourselves," I said. The four of us left Hagrid and headed to the library.

Five hours later, we were still there. We had been through almost every book in the library, and we still had nothing to show for it. We left the library and headed down to dinner.

"You'll keep looking while Edward and I are away, won't you?" Bella pleaded with Rosalie and I. "And send us owls if you find anything."

***

I opened my eyes on Christmas morning, not expecting anything. I had never gotten anything for Christmas in my life.

"Merry Christmas, Alice," Rosalie greeted me as I sat up in bed. I peered over the edge of my bed and saw a small pile of presents.

"Merry Christmas yourself," I said. "Are those mine?" I asked. She nodded, then turned pink.

"Looks like you got something from my mom. I told her you didn't expect anything…" Her face was bright red now.

I hopped off my bed and sat by my pile of presents and began opening them. The first one, from Hagrid, was a small wooden flute Hagrid carved himself. Engraved on the side, there was a small owl that looked like Venus. I blew into it, and it sounded like Venus.

The next one was from my aunt and uncle. It was a 25-pence piece.

"That's nice," I muttered under my breath, tossing the piece on my bed. I picked up the one from Mrs. Weasley next and opened it. Inside, there was a sweater and some homemade fudge.

"Oh no, she made you a Weasley sweater," Rose said, turning pink again. I looked down at the sweater. It was a sky blue color.

"That's really nice of her," I said, blushing.

"Mine's _always_ pink," Rosalie said, making a face. She pulled her sweater on. The pink looked very nice with her blond hair.

My next gifts were from Bella and Edward. Bella gave me a large box of Chocolate Frogs, and Edward gave me a book called _Quidditch Teams of Great Britain._

I picked up a light parcel next. There was no name on it. I pulled out the note and read: _Your father left this in my possession before he died. It is time it was returned to you. Use it well._

I opened the package and pulled out a silver cloak.

"Whoa, I know that is. They're supposed to be really rare!" Rosalie gasped.

"What is it?"

"An invisibility cloak—I'm positive. Try it on." I pulled it over myself and looked down.

"I'm invisible!" I cried. "This is so cool!"

I wondered who sent it to me. It seemed weird. Why didn't the sender want me to know who they were?

"C'mon, let's go up and see Fred and George." I pulled on my sweater and followed Rosalie out of the dorm. We walked up the stairs into Fred and George's room. They were there opening presents with Jasper.

"Hey look!" Fred exclaimed as we walked in. "Alice's got a Weasley sweater!"

"Hers is nicer, though. She must actually make an effort if you aren't family," George complained.

"What's going on here?" Percy said, walking into the room. He must have been opening his presents, because he had his half-opened sweater in his hands.

"P for prefect!" Fred shouted. Come on, Perce, ever Alice is wearing hers." The twins pulled the sweater over Percy's head. "And you're not eating with the prefects today. Christmas is family time."

"Merry Christmas, Alice," Jasper said to me as he walked out the room, following Fred and George. Why did his smile seem like the best Christmas present I received?

***

Later that night, after a wonderful day of snowball fights and a large Christmas dinner of turkey and pie cake, I finally had a moment alone.

Rosalie had fallen asleep instantly, but I sat up in bed, thinking. Who had sent me the invisibility cloak? I pulled it out of my trunk and pulled it on. I thought of waking Rosalie, but I wanted to use it alone the first time.

I tip toed out of the room and climbed out of the portrait hole. I grabbed a lamp and walked down to the library. I looked through the books, but we had searched all of them already. I looked to my left and saw a sign.

**Restricted Section**

Hmm. I walked into the restricted section and began looking through the titles. Some of the titles were vague, and other books had no title. I picked one at random and opened it. The book let out a loud scream that would wake the whole castle.

I dropped the book and ran for it. I found an empty classroom and ran inside. I sunk to the ground, breathing heavily.

I turned around, and saw a large mirror standing in the middle of the room.

Across the top, there was an inscription: _Erised stra ehru oyt ube oyt on wohsi._

I felt like I had seen this mirror somewhere, but I wasn't sure where. I walked up to the mirror and saw myself in it. However, I wasn't alone.

Behind me, there were many people. I turned around, but the room was empty. I looked back in the mirror and studied the two people closest to me. The man was tall with black hair and—his nose was the same shape as mine. The woman standing next to him looked like I would look if I was 20 years older.

"Mom? Dad?" They smiled at me. I looked at the other people in the mirror. I saw another woman with the exact same eyes as me, some people with similar noses, and other similarities. I was seeing my family.

I pulled the cloak back on and ran back to the dorm.

"Rosalie! Rosalie! Wake up! Wake up!"

"S'matter?" she said sleepily.

"I have to show you something! It's amazing!" I pulled Rosalie out of bed and under the cloak. The two of us made our way back to the room with the mirror. I pulled off the cloak and stood with her in front of the mirror.

"I don't see your family, Alice," she groaned.

"Here," I said, stepping away. "_Now_ do you see them?"

"No," she said, her eyes widening. "It's me, but I'm older. I'm really pretty. Like _really_ pretty. And I'm Head Girl! I'm holding the house cup! And Emmett's standing next to me, kissing my cheek! Hey—do you think this shows the future?"

"How can it? All my family's dead," I said glumly. "Let me look again."

"No, you already saw them, It's my turn!"

"Move, Rosalie!" I heard a noise outside the room. "Quick, under the cloak. It might be Filch!" Rosalie dove under the cloak and we made our way back to Gryffindor tower.

***

The next night, I was back in front of the mirror. I was sitting on the ground, staring up at the faces of my parents.

"Back again, Alice?" I turned around and saw Dumbledore sitting in the corner, smiling at me.

"I—I didn't see you, sir," I stuttered.

"So, you like many before you have discovered the Mirror of Erised. I expect you know what it shows now?"

"I think it shows us what we want. Whatever we want."

"Yes and no. It shows us nothing more or less that our hearts desire. You, who have never known your family, are surrounded by them. Your friend Rosalie, who has lived in her brothers' shadows and been invisible to the boy she loves, sees herself as successful and with the affections of Mr. Cullen.

However, this mirror gives neither knowledge nor truth. Men have been driven mad, never knowing if the images are true or not. The mirror will be moved tomorrow. I ask you not to search for it. If you _do_ see it again in the future, you will be prepared. It does not do well to dwell on dreams and forget to live."

"Sir—may I ask you something?"

"You've already done so. However, you may ask me one more thing."

"What do you see?"

"I see myself, holding a pair of thick socks."

"Socks, sir?"

"One can never have too many socks. Another Christmas has passed and I did not receive a single pair. People always insist on giving me books." Dumbledore gave me a smile as I pulled the cloak on and headed back to bed.

He may have not told me the truth on the question, but I co9uldn't blame him. It was a personal question.


	8. Never Mix Fire and Wood

Chapter 7: Never Mix Fire and Wood

After the holidays, Bella and Edward returned to Hogwarts. They were both disappointed that neither Rosalie nor I had found anything about Nicolas Flamel. We resumed the search for him, but it was hard with all the homework we had to do. I had even less time, since Wood was insisting on daily practices.

"He's gone crazy!" Fred told me one day before practice. "He's becoming a fanatic!"

"He wants to win and so do I," I told him.

"Yeah. If we win this match, we'll overtake Slytherin in the house championship," Jasper agreed. He gave me a smile and I turned my face away so he wouldn't see me blush.

We joined the rest of the team on the field. I could see Wood getting fed up with Emmett and the Weasleys, who were fooling around by dive-bombing each other and pretending to fall off their brooms.

"Stop messing around!" he ordered them. "That's exactly the kind of thing that's going to lose us the match. Snape's refereeing."

Snape?

Did he say _Snape_ was refereeing?

"_Snape's_ refereeing?" George asked, outraged. "When has he _ever_ refereed a Quidditch match? He's not going to be fair if we might overtake Slytherin!"

Wood shrugged his shoulders. "There's nothing I can do about it. We just have to play our best and not do anything that gives Snape an excuse to pick on us."

After practice, everyone hung back to talk like usual, but I sprinted back to the Gryffindor common room. When I walked in, Rosalie and Edward were playing wizard's chess while Bella checked their homework.

"Alice, what's wrong?" Bella asked when she saw my face.

"Snape's suddenly got the desire to be a Quidditch referee. He's the ref for our next match."

"Don't play," Bella said.

"Pretend to break your leg," Edward suggested.

"Really break your leg," Rosalie said.

"I can't," I said. "There's no reserve Seeker. If I don't play, we forfeit."

Just then, Ron came in through the portrait hole. He was gripping his pants. I saw they were split at the seams.

"What happened?" Rosalie asked, looking at her brother.

"Fred and George. They used _Diffindo_ on me when they saw me in the corridor."

Bella rushed over and repaired his clothes.

"Ron, you've got to stand up to them, or they're going to keep pushing you around," Rosalie told him.

"I don't need you to tell me I need to stand up to them. They're always walking all over me!" Ron sunk down on one of the chairs and looked miserable. I reached into my robe and pulled out a chocolate frog. I handed it to Ron.

"Don't worry about them," I told Ron.

"Thanks, Alice," he said, smiling at me. "Hey, do you want my card? I already have six of Dumbledore." He got up off the chair, handed me the card, and went to bed.

"Thanks," I said, taking the card and reading it. I gasped. "Guys, I found him!"

"Who?" Edward asked, confused.

"Flamel! Listen to this—'Dumbledore is particularly famous for his defeat of the dark wizard Grindewald in 1945, for the discovery of the twelve uses of dragon's blood, and his work on alchemy with his partner, _Nicolas Flamel!_"

"Hold on a minute!" Bella said, leaping to her feet. She reached into her bag and pulled out an old book that was twice as wide as she was. She opened the book and began scanning the pages until she stopped and jumped up. "I knew it! I knew it!"

"You knew what?" Edward asked, looking as confused as I was. She pushed to book towards the three of us. "Read that," she said, pointing to a paragraph on page 1344.

_The ancient study of alchemy is concerned with making the Sorcerer's Stone, a legendary substance with astonishing powers. The Stone will transform any metal into pure gold. It also produces the Elixir of Life, which will make the drinker immortal. There have been many reports of the Sorcerer's Stone over the centuries, but the only stone currently in existence belongs to Mr. Nicolas Flamel, who celebrated his 665__th__ birthday last year. _

"_That's_ what the dog's guarding. _That's_ what Snape wants. The Sorcerer's Stone."

"Why would Snape want the Stone?" Edward asked.

"Who _wouldn't _want the Stone?" Rosalie asked. "It makes anything into gold and makes you immortal. I mean, you could buy your own Quidditch team!"

I remembered Snape refereeing the next match. "I'm going to play. If I don't everyone will think I'm afraid of Snape."

"Just as long as we're not cleaning you off the field at the end of the match," Bella said, worried.

***

That Saturday, Rosalie, Bella, Edward, and I walked down to the Quidditch pitch. They waved me goodbye as I headed off to the locker room with the rest of the team. I couldn't pay attention as Wood gave his pre-game pep talk.

"You all right, Alice?" Jasper asked as we lined up to walk onto the field.

I nodded nervously. I couldn't even speak I was so terrified. I was wondering how far into the match I would make it before Snape started cursing me.

"Whoa, the whole school's out there," Fred said, peering out the door. Even _Dumbledore's _there!"

"Dumbledore's watching?" I asked, breathing a sigh of relief. If Dumbledore was there, Snape wouldn't try anything, right?

We marched onto the field. I saw Snape, looking furious. Wood and the Hufflepuff captain shook hands, then we all rose into the air. I started searching for the Snitch—Wood said to try and find it as quick as I could so Snape couldn't favor Hufflepuff too much.

I saw George fly past me and aim a Bludger at Snape. "Git," he muttered under his breath as he hit the Bludger with his bat. It narrowly missed Snape's head, and he awarded Hufflepuff a penalty for that.

Then, I saw it. A little fleck of gold by Snape's ear. I went into a dive and swooped right past Snape's ear, grabbing the Snitch. He looked terrified as I approached him. I held the Snitch in the air as the crowd burst into applause.

The Gryffindors rushed onto the field and lifted me onto their shoulders. We had done it. For the first time in seven years, we were in first place in the house championship.

I looked over and saw Snape stomp the ground furiously.

***

After the game, I went to the locker room and changed. Everyone else had already gone back to the common room, but I moved a little slower today. I left to take my Nimbus 2000 back to the broom shed when I saw a hooded figure limp into the forest.

Snape. What was he doing?

Quietly, I hopped onto my broom and flew over the trees of the forest. I dipped down and saw Snape talking to someone. He seemed to be threatening him.

"…d-don't know why you wanted t-t-to meet here of all p-places, Severus…"

Why would Professor Quirrell be meeting Professor Snape in the Forbidden Forest? It was beyond strange.

"Oh, I thought we'd keep this private," Snape replied in an evil voice. "Students aren't supposed to know about the Sorcerer's Stone, after all." Well, unfortunately for him, Rosalie, Bella, Edward, and I did. I wonder what Snape would do if he found out we knew about it.

Quirrell began to mutter something, but Snape interrupted him. "Have you found out how to get past that beast of Hagrid's yet?"

"B-b-but Severus, I—"

"You don't want me as your enemy, Quirrell," Snape said, moving closer to Quirrell.

"I-I don't know what you—"

"You know perfectly well what I mean." An owl hooted and I almost fell off my broom, but I steadied myself before I revealed myself. Unfortunately, I missed part of what Snape was saying. "—your little bit of hocus-pocus. I'm waiting."

"B-but I d-d-don't—"

"Very well, we'll have another little chat soon, when you've had time to decide where your loyalties lie." He pulled his cloak over his shoulders and limped out of the forest. Quirrell stood where he was, rooted to the spot, still shaking.

***

"Alice, where have you been?" Bella asked when I walked through the portrait hole.

"We won! Well, you won, but _we won!_" Edward shouted. "And I gave Malfoy a bloody lip! And Ron and Harry took on Crabbe and Goyle. They're still a bit bloody, but we showed them!"

"Never mind that, I need to talk to you guys _now_," I said, grabbing the three of them and pulling them into an empty corner.

_Rosalie, Edward, Bella, and I were standing in the Gryffindor common room at night. _

"_Here, let's put the cloak on before we go out so there's no way we'll be seen," I whispered to them._

"_What are you doing?" a voice said. The four of us turned and saw Ron sitting in one of the chairs._

"_Go away, Ron" Rosalie told her brother._

"_You're going out again."_

"_No, it's not—"_

"_I know you are. You can't. You'll get caught, and Gryffindor will be in even more trouble!"_

"_You don't understand," Edward told Ron. "This is important!"_

"_I won't let you!" he said, moving in front of the portrait hole. "Rosalie, I won't let you!"_

"_Ron, move out of the way and stop being stupid!" Rosalie hissed at him._

"_I'm not stupid! And you said I should stand up to Fred and George!"_

"_Fred and George, yes. Us, no!" Ron stayed where he was._

"_Do something!" Edward hissed at Bella._

"_Ron, I'm really sorry. Petrificus Totalus." Ron's arms and legs snapped together, and he fell to the ground, stiff as a board._

I snapped out of my vision and turned back to my friends. I told then everything I had seen and heard in the forest.

"So it is the Sorcerer's Stone! And Snape is trying to get Quirrell to help him get it! We were right!" Bella whispered.

"What did Snape mean by 'hocus-pocus'?" Rosalie asked.

"I'm guessing there're other enchantments protecting the stone besides Fluffy. He's probably trying to get Quirrell to tell him how to get past his," Edward said.

"So, the Stone's only safe as long as Quirrell stands up to Snape?" Bella asked.

"It'll be gone tomorrow," Edward said glumly.

"Alice, come over here and join the celebration!" Fred called. I walked over to the rest of the Quidditch team. They all toasted their drinks to me. I sipped my pumpkin juice and looked over at Jasper. He gave me a wink before eating another slice of apple pie.

***

Apparently, Quirrell was stronger than he appeared. The next weeks, he didn't appear to have given into Snape. Snape was still as bitter as always, so I assumed the Stone was still safe.

Bella was worried about other things besides the Stone. "Here," she said, handing us all a piece of color-coded parchment one day in the library.

"What is this?" Edward asked, looking at it revolted.

"Study schedule. I took the liberty of drawing one up for each of you."

"Bella, the exams are ages away," Rosalie said, not looking up from her Transfiguration essay.

"Ten weeks," she said sharply, glaring at Rosalie. "That's like a second to Nicolas Flamel!"

"Yes, but we're not over 600 years old," Edward said.

"I don't know what's wrong with me," she said, sitting down and pulling out her notes. "I should have started studying a month ago…"

"What are you worried for?" I asked. "You already know everything!"

"Excuse me, we _need_ to pass these exams to get into the second year!"

I rolled my eyes and leaned back in my chair.

"Hagrid, what are you doing in the library?" Edward suddenly asked. I sat up and looked over at the one library shelf. Hagrid was standing there, looking awkward and out of place with something behind his back.

"Jus' lookin'," he said nervously. "What are yeh lot up ter? Not still lookin' fer Nicolas Flamel?" he asked suspiciously.

"Of course not. We found out who he was _ages_ ago. And we found out that dog's guarding the Sorcerer's St—"

"Shhh!" Hagrid said, looking around at the other students. "Don' go talkin' about it where other student can hear. What's the matter with yeh?"

"Well, we have a few questions about what's guarding it besides Fluffy—"

"SHHH! Some an' see me later—I'm not sayin' I'm gonna tell you anything, but don' go talkin' 'bout it here—students aren't 'sposed the know."

"Okay, see you later," I said, waving to Hagrid as he slumped out of the library.

"What was he hiding behind his back?" Rosalie asked. "Could it have been about the Stone?"

"I'll go check," Edward said, looking for any excuse to take a break from his Potions homework. He went down the aisle Hagrid was in and came back a moment later with a book in his hands. "Dragons! Hagrid was researching dragons! Look: _From Egg to Inferno: A Dragon Keeper's Guide._"

"Hagrid's always wanted a dragon. He told me that the first time I met him."

"But their illegal," Edward said. "They were outlawed in 1709. I mean, it's kind of hard to keep our existence a secret if we have dragons in our back yard! Anyways, they're impossible to tame."

"Yeah, last time I saw Charlie, his arms were all burned from the ones in Romania," Rosalie added.

"So what is Hagrid doing looking up dragons?" I asked.

***

An hour later, we were walking down to Hagrid's cabin. We knocked on the door, but I was surprised to see all the curtains were shut.

"Who is it?" Hagrid called. When he saw it was us, he let us in and quickly shut the door. Hagrid had a fire lit, even though it was a warm day.

"Yeh wanted ter ask me somethin'?"

"Yes, we wanted to know what was guarding the Stone apart from Fluffy," I said, getting right to the point.

"I can't tell yehs that! Do yeh want me ter loose me job? Anyways, I wouldn't tell yeh I could—yeh know too much. The Stone's here fer a good reason—it was almost stolen out o' Gringotts. Beats me how yeh know about Fluffy."

"Oh, come on Hagrid. You may not _want_ to tell us, but you do know everything that goes on around here. We were just wondering who had done the guarding, really. Who Dumbledore trusted enough apart from you," Bella said, trying to flatter Hagrid.

"Well, I guess it couldn't hurt ter tell yeh that," he said, thinking. "Now, he borrowed Fluffy from me, then he asked some of the teachers to do enchantments…there was Professor Flitwick—Professor Sprout—Professor McGonagall—Professor Quirrell—an' then Dumbledore did somethin' himself, o' course. Wait, I fergot someone—Professor Snape."

"_Snape?"_ we all asked, shocked.

"Yeah—yeh don't still think he's trying ter steal it, do yeh? Snape helped _protect_ it!"

I knew they were all thinking the same thing as me—if Snape helped protect it, he would have an easier time finding out how all the other teachers guarded it—with the exception of Quirrell and Fluffy.

"Hagrid, does anyone else know how to get past Fluffy?"

"Not a soul besides Dumbledore and meself," he said.

"And you wouldn't tell anyone, right?"

"O' course not." I breathed a sigh of relief. The Stone was safe as long as Snape didn't know how to get past Fluffy.

"Hagrid, can we open a window? It's burning in here," I said, fanning myself with my hand.

"Can't Alice, sorry," he said, shifting his eyes over to the fire.

"Hagrid, what is that?" I asked, looking in the fire. After seeing it, I knew what it was.

"Well—er—that's…"

"I know what it is!" Rosalie exclaimed, moving closer to look at the black egg. "But where did you get it? It must have cost you an arm and a leg!"

"Won it las' night at the pub. I had a few drinks an' got into a game o' cards with a stranger."

"What are you going to do when it hatches?" Bella asked, perplexed. "Hagrid—you live in a wooden house!"

Hagrid ignored her and turned the egg over in the fire, looking happy with himself.

The four of us left shortly afterwards. On the way up to the castle, we discussed the problem the dragon presented.

"What's going to happen when someone finds out he's hiding an illegal dragon egg in his cabin?" Bella asked. "He should just get rid of it before things get to out of hand. If he was thinking logically—"

"But when has Hagrid ever used logic?"

***

One day at breakfast, Venus brought me another note from Hagrid. There were only two words: _It's hatching!_

"Why don't we skip Herbology and go down to Hagrid?" Edward suggested. "I mean, how many times do we get to see a dragon hatching?"

"We can't," Bella said. "We'll get into trouble, and that's nothing compared to what's going to happen to Hagrid when someone—"

"Shut up!" I hissed when I saw Malfoy leaning towards us. I wondered how much he had heard when I saw the nasty look on his face.

"We'll go down during morning break," I whispered to them as we walked into the greenhouse.

After Herbology, the four of us headed down to Hagrid's cabin. When he saw us, he ushered us inside. Bella grabbed my hand to pull me in. My friends really needed to learn to stop touching me—they knew what happened when they did.

_I walked into an empty classroom one evening, and saw Bella sitting on a desk, pointing her wand above her head. Circling her head were a bunch of little blue birds. She had a miserable look on her face._

"_Hey, Bella," I said, greeting her. "They look great," I said, pointing to the birds she had conjured._

"_Oh, yeah, thanks," she said, distracted._

"_Bella, I'm sure he—"_

"_Oh, come on, Alice," she said, hopping off the desk. "You saw him in there with his arms wrapped around her like the giant squid's tentacles! He doesn't care at all." She sunk to the ground and put her face in her hands._

_I sat down next to her and put my arm around her shoulders. "Everything's going to be okay," I told her. "Just give him time, and he'll realize he was an idiot."_

"_I don't care," she sobbed. "He can go and snog anyone and everyone he wants, and I still won't care!" She leaned her head on my shoulder and sobbed harder._

_Just then, the door opened. Bella wiped her eyes as Edward and Hermione Granger walked in. It was the worst timing possible._

"_Oh, sorry," Hermione giggled when she saw us sitting on the ground. She left the room, still giggling._

_Edward grinned at me sheepishly._

"_Well, you better go," Bella said, standing up. "You don't want to keep Hermione waiting."_

_Edward looked shocked that nothing more was going to happen to him. Just then, Bella turned around, pointed her wand at Edward, and shouted, "Oppugno!" Suddenly, the birds circling the air flew towards Edward and started attacking him. Bella ran out of the room and I heard her heave another sob before the door closed._

"Bella," I said when I regained awareness," you can't keep grabbing me like that. You know what happens when someone touches me!"

"Oh, sorry, Alice. I didn't even think about that!"

"It's okay; just try to be more careful about that."

"So, what did you see?" she asked. I didn't exactly want to tell her that I saw her attacking Edward with birds when Edward was standing next to her, looking at me intently.

"Uh, just you in class. You answered a question that no one else could get and Professor McGonagall gave you 20 points."

She beamed at me, then we all turned our attention to the hatching egg on Hagrid's table.

Just then, there was a scraping noise and the egg split in half. The baby dragon was lying on the table. It wasn't really cute—it kind of looked like a crumpled black umbrella. It was coated in some kind of fluid and had huge spiny wings.

The dragon sneezed and a few sparks flew out of its nose.

"Hagrid, what kind of dragon is it?" Bella asked.

"A Norwegian Ridgeback," he said, looking at the dragon. "Isn't he beautiful? Come here, Norbert. Come to mommy."

"Norbert?" I asked.

"Well, he needs a name."

"Hagrid, how fast do Norwegian Ridgebacks grow?" Rosalie asked. He was about to answer, when he looked over at the window and a shocked and horrified look appeared on his face.

"What's wrong?" I asked him.

"A kid—there was a kid at the window—"

I looked out the window and saw a small blond boy running back to the castle. Malfoy had seen the dragon.

"Let him go," Bella was saying to Hagrid. "Set him free."

"I can't. He's just a baby. He'll die!" Hagrid said.

"Hagrid, the dragon's going to start getting bigger. He's not going to like being kept in a small house. Soon, someone's going to notice if Malfoy hasn't told them already!" I said, panicking.

"He's lost it. He's losing his mind," Rosalie whispered to me.

"I know I can't keep him ferever, but I can't just dump him."

"Charlie," I said to Rosalie.

"Rosalie," she said, pointing to herself.

"No, your brother Charlie. Maybe we could write him and see if they could take him at the place in Romania."

"That's a great idea! What do you say, Hagrid?"

"Well, okay. As long as he'll be safe."

***

That week, Rosalie, Bella, Edward, and I waited anxiously for Venus to return with Charlie's reply. Meanwhile, Norbert had tripled in size.

Wednesday night, Bella, Rosalie, and I were doing our homework while Edward was down with Hagrid, helping him with Norbert. At midnight, he climbed through the portrait hole.

"It bit me!" he said, pulling off my invisibility cloak. "I was feeding it and it bit me! I'm not going to be able to hold a quill with this hand. I'm telling you, that dragon is the most horrible thing I've ever met! Hey look, it's Venus," he said, pointing at the window.

I opened it, and Venus flew in, dropping a letter on my lap. "It must be Charlie's answer," I said. I opened the letter and the four of us read it.

_Rosalie,  
How are you? Thanks for the letter—I'll be glad to take the Norwegian Ridgeback, but it won't be easy getting him here. I think the best thing will be to send him with some friends of mine who are coming to visit me next week. Problem is, they can't be seen carrying an illegal dragon.  
Could you get the Ridgeback up to the tallest tower at midnight on Saturday? They'll meet you there and take the dragon while it's still dark.  
Send me an answer ASAP.  
Love,  
Charlie_

"Well, we've got the cloak," I said as Rosalie scribbled an answer to Charlie. Anything to get rid of Norbert.

The next morning, Edward's hand had swollen twice the normal size. He had no choice but to go to Madam Pomfrey. After our lessons. Bella, Rosalie, and I visited him in the hospital wing. He looked miserable.

"It's not just my hand," he whispered. "Malfoy came to see me. He told her he needed to borrow a book, but he really just came to laugh at me. He kept telling me he was going to tell her what really bit me—I told her it was a cat, but I doubt she believes me. I shouldn't have punched him."

"Well, it'll all be over Saturday," I told him.

"Hey, Edward, can I have my book back?" Rosalie asked. "Charlie's letter is still in it."

"Oh no," he groaned, sitting up. "That's the book Malfoy took! He'll know what we're about to do!"

"Well, we can't change the plan now," I told him. "It's too late to send another letter to Charlie. Malfoy doesn't know we have the cloak, so we'll just have to be careful."

***

Saturday night, Rosalie, Bella, and I all walked down to Hagrid's hut under the invisibility cloak. Hagrid was standing in his garden with Norbert already in a large crate.

"Bye bye, Norbert," Hagrid sobbed as we lifted Norbert under the cloak. "Mommy will never forget you!"

We made our way back up to the castle and started heading up to the Astronomy tower.

"We're almost there," I whispered to Bella and Rosalie as we approached the corridor beneath the tower. Just then, two people came down the corridor.

"Detention!" Professor McGonagall screeched as she pulled Malfoy by the ear. "And twenty points from Slytherin. Nothing gives you the right to wander the castle at night!"

"But Professor, it's Alice Brandon! She's bringing a dragon!"

"What nonsense! I shall see Professor Snape about you!" The two of them disappeared.

"Malfoy's got detention! I could sing!" Bella whispered.

"Don't," Rosalie advised.

Still laughing about Malfoy, the three of us walked up the stairs to the tower. Waiting for us were Charlie's friends with broomsticks.

We pulled off the invisibility cloak, and they showed us where the harness was to hook Norbert in. They took the crate and fastened it onto the broomsticks, then disappeared into the night.

"He's gone," I sighed happily as we walked back down the stairs. "He's finally gone."

"Well, well, well," a nasty voice greeted us as we reached the bottom of the stairs. "We _are_ in trouble." Filch was standing there, giving us an evil smile.

The invisibility cloak was still at the top of the tower.

**Sorry I'm not updating this regularly, but my other fanfic is my priority right now. Once I finish that, I will update much more frequently. Please review!**


	9. Mars is Bright Tonight

Chapter 8: Mars is Bright Tonight

**AN: Thanks for the reviews, guys. I'm trying to update as often as I can. My other story will be finished in probably about two weeks, so then you can expect (almost) daily updates.**

This was the worst night of my life.

Filch took Rosalie, Bella, and I down to Professor McGonagall's office, where the three of us stood, shaking, not saying a word. I glanced over at Bella and saw she was on the verge of tears. She had never been in trouble before.

I tried to think of some reason, some excuse, but came up with nothing. She wouldn't accept any excuse for us being out of bed after hours in the Astronomy tower, which was out-of-bounds except during classes. Add in Norbert and the cloak, and we would be on the Hogwarts Express in the morning. At least things couldn't get any worse.

I was wrong.

Professor McGonagall came in, leading Ron.

Crap.

"Rosalie!" Ron shouted when he saw us. "Edward said something about you guys going out tonight, and I heard Malfoy say he was going to catch you, that you had a drag—"

I shook my head at him, trying to get him to shut up, but Professor McGonagall had heard.

"Mr. Filch said you three were up in the astronomy tower. It's one o'clock in the morning. _Explain!_"

Bella just stared at Professor McGonagall with a deer-in-the-headlights look. It was the first time she hadn't been able to give a teacher the answer they were looking for. Rosalie looked at the ground, not meeting Professor McGonagall's or Ron's eyes. I looked down at my hands.

"I think I know what's going on," Professor McGonagall said. "You fed Draco Malfoy some bogus story about a dragon to get him out of bed—I already caught him and punished him. I hope you're happy that Mr. Weasley heard the story and believed it too."

Ron looked at the three of us with a shocked and hurt look on his face. I tried to tell him with my eyes that it wasn't true, but he just stared at the ground.

"I'm disgusted," Professor McGonagall spat. "Five students out of bed in one night—I'd never believed it was possible. Miss Swan—I thought you had more sense than this. As for you, Miss Brandon and Miss Weasley, I thought Gryffindor meant more to you. All four of you will receive detention, and fifty points will be taken from Gryffindor."

"_Fifty_?" Rosalie gasped. I just gaped at Professor McGonagall. We would lose the lead over Slytherin, the lead I won in the Quidditch match.

"Fifty each," she said, glaring at all of us.

"Professor, please—"

"That's 200 points!"

"You can't—"

"Don't tell me what I can't do," she snapped at me. "Now back to bed, all of you. I've never been more ashamed of Gryffindor in my life."

200 points! That put us in last place. In one night, I had ruined any chance Gryffindor had of winning the house cup.

Rosalie, Bella, and I walked up to our dormitory and laid in our beds. I heard Bella sobbing herself to sleep. I knew she was dreading the morning when the rest of Gryffindor found out what we had done. What would they do?

***

"Thinks she's all that…"

"Way to go, Brandon!"

"Loser!"

"Freak!"

I endured the taunts as I walked down the corridor to Transfiguration with Rosalie, Edward, and Bella. After everyone found out what we had done, they were furious. Even the Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws hated me. They were so anxious to see Slytherin lose the cup, and I had destroyed any chance of that.

Rosalie and Bella had a tough time too. None of the Gryffindors would talk to them. Bella stopped raising her hand in class and worked in silence. Rosalie stopped challenging people to games of wizard's chess in the common room.

They didn't have it as bad as me. People taunted me everywhere I went, and nobody except Bella, Rosalie, and Edward would talk to me.

"They'll forget all about it in a couple of weeks," Edward muttered to me. "Emmett's lost tons of points, and everyone still likes him."

"He didn't lose 200 in one night, did he?"

"Well…no."

It was too late to repair the damage we had done. The only thing I could do was not make it worse. I would never meddle in things that weren't my business ever again.

***

"Resign? What good will that do?" Wood thundered at me before practice. I told him I wanted to quit the team. Quidditch was no fun anymore. No one on the team would talk to me or look at me.

"I just thought…"

"Alice, if we're ever going to get any of the points back, you have to stay on the team. You're the reason we won the past two matches."

I sighed.

"People will get over it eventually," he said. "Until then, you just have to keep your head held high and ignore what everyone's saying. You can do it, Alice," Wood said, patting my hand. Oh, come on!

_Rosalie was walking down the Charms corridor, heading to class._

"_Rosalie, wait up!" Wood called, jogging to catch up with her._

"_Oh, hey Oliver!" she said, greeting him. "What's up?"_

"_Nothing. Are you going to Hogsmeade this weekend?"_

"_I dunno," she sighed. "All my friends are going with someone. Since it's Valentine's Day and everything, but no one asked me. I don't want to be hanging out by myself."_

"_Well, I'm not going with anyone either," Wood said nervously._

"_Okay?"_

"_Well, did you maybe want to go with me?"_

"_Oh my god, this is like a pity date, right?" Rosalie groaned. "Since my friends ditched me and no one asked me. God, I'm such an idiot!"_

"_No, it's not. Rosalie, I would love it if you would go to Hogsmeade with me this weekend."_

"_Why are you asking me? I'm just a third year! And you're a seventh year!"_

"_Well, you're beautiful, smart, funny, and really nice. And if I don't ask you out now, someone else will. So, will you go with me?"_

_She looked at him carefully. "Well, okay." She stood on her tiptoes, kissed him on the cheek, and then headed to Charms._

_There was a flash of green light, my scar burned, and a cold, high-pitched laugh echoed in my ears._

God, these flashes were getting annoying. And I didn't even know what they meant!

"Let's go practice," Wood said to me. I joined him out on the field. As soon as I walked out, all the conversations stopped, which meant they had just stopped talking about me.

Practice was the same as it had been for the past week—quiet and lonely. Even Fred, George, and Emmett had stopped talking to me. Jasper still smiled at me occasionally, but it was more of a pity smile then a friendly smile.

After practice, I showered and headed to the library to meet with Bella, Rosalie, and Edward. Since no one was talking to us, we spent most of our time in the library, studying for final exams.

On my way there, I passed by Professor Quirrell's room. As I walked by, I heard Quirrell. He sounded frightened.

"No—no—not again, please—"

I moved closer and cocked my ear towards the door.

"All right—all right—" Quirrell sobbed as he rushed out of the room. He straightened his turban as he ran past me.

I crept towards the room and was about to look in, when I remembered my promise to myself. Shaking what had just happened out of me head, I walked down to the library. When I got there, I told them what had just happened.

"It was Snape!" Rosalie said. "That's who Quirrell was talking to. He must have given in and told Snape how to get past his Anti-Dark Force spell. Snape's going to go and get the Stone—"

"There's still Fluffy," Bella reminded her.

"Snape probably found out somehow," Edward said while looking up the ingredients to a boil cure potion. "I'm sure there's a book somewhere that tells you how to get past giant three-headed dogs." He looked up at me. "So, what are we going to do?"

"Go to Dumbledore," Bella said before Edward could suggest some outrageous plan. "We should have done that ages ago."

"But we don't have any proof!" I said. "Quirrell won't back up—he's scared for his life. Snape won't admit to it and he'll claim we did it to make him look bad—it's not secret we hate him. Filch won't back us up even if we paid him—less students make him happy. Plus, we'd have to explain how we know about Fluffy and the Stone."

"If we just looked around a little…" Edward said.

"No. We've done enough," I said, sitting down and looking up the wand motion for a switching spell.

***

At breakfast the next day, Rosalie, Bella, Ron, and I all received identical notes:

_Your detention will take place at eleven o'clock tonight. Meet Mr. Filch in the entrance hall.  
Professor McGonagall_

Oh yeah. Detention.

I looked over at Bella to see if she was upset at the loss of a night of studying, but she didn't say anything. She knew we deserved it.

All day, Bella, Rosalie, Edward and I studied in the library. After dinner, we went up to the common room to study some more. At a quarter to eleven, we said goodbye to Edward, then climbed out of the portrait hole with Ron. Filch was already in the entrance hall—with Malfoy.

Oh yeah. I forgot he had detention too.

"Let's go," Filch said. The five of us followed him outside onto the grounds.

"I bet you'll think twice about breaking a school rule after tonight. Hard work and pain are the best teachers, if you ask me…it's a shame they retired the old punishments…hanging by your wrists from the ceilings, whipping…I've still got the chains in my office, just in case."

As we were walking across the grounds in the dark, I wondered what our punishment was. It had to be really bad, or Filch wouldn't be sounding so happy.

"Is that you, Filch? Hurry up, I want ter get started," Hagrid called.

I felt much better; if we were going with Hagrid, it wouldn't be too bad. My face must have shown my feelings, because Filch leered at me.

"I guess you think you'll be enjoying yourself with that oaf? No—it's into the forest you go, and I doubt you'll all come out in one piece."

"Abou' time," Hagrid grumbled as we reached his hut. "I bin waitin' for close ter half an hour. All right, Alice?"

"Don't be too friendly, Hagrid. They're here to be punished."

"Is that why yer late?" Hagrid asked. "Bin lecturin' them? Well, yeh did yer part. I'll take over from here."

"I'll be back at dawn for what's left of them," he sneered nastily at us.

"Well, let's go. Into the forest."

"The forest? I thought that was a joke. I'm not going in there," Malfoy said. I was happy to hear the panic in his voice.

"Yeh are if yeh want ter stay at Hogwarts. Yeh did wrong, and now yeh got to pay fer it."

"Why can't I just copy lines or something like that?" Malfoy asked. "This is servant stuff. If my father heard about this, he'd say—"

"—that's how it's done at Hogwarts. What good'll copyin' lines do fer anyone? Yeh either do something useful or get out. If yeh think yer father would want yeh expelled, go back ter the castle and pack yer bags."

Malfoy said nothing, but followed Hagrid into the forest.

"That's what I thought," Hagrid said under his breath. "All right, follow me. What we're gonna do tonight is dangerous stuff, so I don't want no one takin' risks, got that? See this stuff on the ground?" he asked, pointing to a silvery liquid. "That's unicorn blood. There's a unicorn in there that's bin badly hurt by something. I found one dead earlier this week. We need ter try an' find it before the poor animal suffers too much."

"What if it finds us first?"

"Nuthin' in here'll hurt yeh if yer with me or Fang. Jus' keep ter the path. We're gonna—GET BEHIND THAT TREE!" he said, pushing us all behind the closest tree. Unfortunately, in the process, Malfoy's hand brushed against mine. Damn.

"_Woo, we won!" Fred said, landing next to me and hopping off his broom. He pulled me into a big hug, along with the rest of the team._

_Malfoy landed on the ground near us and spat bitterly on the ground._

"_Did you like the song, Brandon? I wrote the lyrics myself. We wanted to add crazy and loony for his parents, but we couldn't find anything to rhyme with it. You know, they are a bunch of nutcases."_

_Emmett looked over and saw what Malfoy was talking about. He started charging at him, but Fred and I stopped him. We held him back as he tried to reach him and beat the crap out of him._

"_You know, they should be your parents, Brandon. They're a step up from the trash that your mum and dad were. At least they weren't as bad as the Weasleys."_

_I wasn't aware that I had let go of Emmett's robe. All I knew was that I wanted to cause Malfoy as much physical pain as I could. Emmett and Fred were right with me. _

_I threw a punch and hit Malfoy in the jaw. Fred started pounding his stomach while Emmett aimed for his eyes._

_I looked back and saw that the rest of the team was restraining George._

_Just then, I felt a strong pair of hands pull me off Malfoy and hold me in the air._

"_My...office…NOW!" Professor McGonagall screeched._

_There was a flash of green light, my scar burned, and a cold, high-pitched laugh echoed in my ears._

"Oh, hullo Ronan," Hagrid said, greeting the creature that walked into the clearing. "It's okay, you lot can come out." The five of us joined Hagrid, and saw a strange creature standing with him. He wasn't a man, but he wasn't a horse either.

"Were you going to shoot me?" Ronan asked.

"Can' be too careful," Hagrid said. "There's something killing the unicorns. Ronan, this is Bella Swan, Rosalie and Ron Weasley, Draco Malfoy, and Alice Brandon. They're students up at the school. This is Ronan. He's a centaur."

"Students! How wonderful. Do you learn much at the school?"

"A bit," I said, still staring at Ronan.

"A bit. Well, that's something." He tilted his head and stared at the sky. "Mars is bright tonight."

"Ronan, have yeh seen anythin'?" Hagrid asked him.

He didn't say anything. He just stared at the sky. "Always the innocent are the first victims," he said eventually.

"Great, but have yeh seen anythin' unusual?"

"Mars is bright. Unusually bright."

"I mean something closer to the earth."

"The forest hides many secrets."

Just then, another centaur came into the clearing.

"Hullo, Bane. How are yeh?"

"Very well." He joined Ronan and looked up at the sky.

"Bane, have yeh seen anything unusual?"

"Mars is bright tonight."

"So we heard," he muttered. "Well, we're gonna be goin'" he said. The six of us left the clearing.

"Never try an' get an answer out o' a centaur. Ruddy stargazers. Well, we're gonna split inter two groups. Alice, you go with Malfoy. Ron, Bella, and Rosalie, come with me."

"Okay, but I want Fang!" Malfoy said.

"Fine. Jus' so yeh know, he's a bloody coward."

Malfoy and I set off in one direction while the others went a different way. We walked in the forest for about 20 minutes, until I saw something.

"Wait," I said, grabbing Malfoy's robe, being careful not to touch his skin. Up ahead on the ground, there was a white creature. It was the dead unicorn. It was sad to see something so beautiful thrown to the ground so carelessly.

Trailing away from the body was a river of unicorn blood. Bending over the blood was a hooded creature. It was drinking the blood.

"OH MY GOD!" Malfoy screamed, running away. Fang followed him, barking. I started running, but tripped over a fallen branch. I turned and looked at the figure. I rose from the ground and started moving towards me. My scar split open with pain. I grabbed it as the creature moved closer. I heard hooves behind me, then a centaur jumped over me and charged the figure. The cloaked figure retreated.

"Are you all right?" the centaur asked me.

"Yes, thank you," I said as the centaur pulled me to my feet. "What was that?"

He didn't answer. "You're the Brandon girl, are you not? You must return to Hagrid. The forest is not safe, especially for you. Hop on my back—it will be quicker to ride. I am Firenze," he said, lowering himself and allowing me to climb on. Just as he was about to ride away, a group of centaurs entered the clearing.

"Firenze! What are you doing? You have a human on your back!" Bane thundered.

"Do you know who this is? This is the Brandon girl. The sooner she leaves the forest, the better."

"Have you no shame? Remember, we are not to set ourselves against the heavens. We have read what is to some in the planets. Centaurs are concerned with what has been foretold, not to race after stray humans!"

"Look at the unicorn!" Firenze yelled at him. "Know why it was killed!" He turned around and rode away with me on his back.

"Why is Bane so angry?" I asked. "What was that thing in the cloak?"

"Alice Brandon, do you know what unicorn blood is used for?"

"No, we've never used it in potions."

"That's because it is a terrible crime to slay a unicorn. Unicorn blood will keep you alive, even if you are an inch from death. But the moment the blood touches your lips, you will lead a cursed life. You have slain something so beautiful and pure to save yourself."

"Who would want that?" I asked. "Who could be that desperate?"

"Ms. Brandon, do you know what is at the school right now?"

"The Sorcerer's Stone! But I don't understand..."

"Can you think of no one who would use unicorn blood to keep themselves alive, someone who has been waiting many years to return to power?"

"Do you mean that was Vol—"

"Alice! Alice! Oh my gosh, Alice!" Rosalie called, running towards me. I climbed off Firenze's back and joined the rest of the group.

"The unicorn's dead, Hagrid. It's in the clearing back there."

"This is where I leave you. You are safe. Good luck, Alice Brandon. Remember, the planets have been read wrongly before. I hope they are wrong this time."

***

Edward was sleeping by the fire when we returned to the common room. I shook him awake, then told the three of them exactly what happened in the forest.

They looked at me with wide eyes as I worked out what was going on, pacing by the fire.

"Snape wants the Stone for Voldemort…Voldemort's waiting in the forest…I thought Snape just wanted to get rich…no, he wants it for something else…Firenze saved me, but he shouldn't have…Bane was so mad…he thought Firenze should have just let Voldemort kill me…I supposed that's in the stars..."

"_Stop saying the name!_" Edward roared at me.

"Well, now I just have to wait for Snape to steal the Stone. Then, Voldemort can come find me and kill me."

"Alice, everyone knows Dumbledore is the only one You-Know-Who was ever afraid of. As long as he's here, you're safe. You can't be touched," Bella said.

I nodded, then we all headed to bed. When I was about to climb into bead, I saw my invisibility cloak with a note pinned to it: _Just in case._

***

That week, we had our final exams.

I had no idea how I got through the exams when I expected Voldemort to some bursting through the door and kill me.

We had both written and practical exams. We had to write the theory behind the spell, then actually perform them for our Professors.

I did the best I could, but the entire time I was taking the exams, my scar kept burning. It wasn't as bad as it had been in the forest, but it still was painful.

After all the exams, Rosalie, Bella, Edward, and I went and relaxed under a large tree by the lake.

"We're finally done!" Rosalie said happily as she laid down in the grass. "Now we don't have to worry for a week until we find out how badly we did. You should look happier, Alice."

"I just wish I knew what this MEANS!" I said, rubbing my head. "My scar keeps hurting."

"Go to Madam Pomfrey," Bella said.

"I'm not sick. I think it's a warning. I think it means danger is coming..coming soon."

"Harry, relax. We never had any proof Snape found out to get past Fluffy. And Dean will excel in potions before Hagrid lets Dumbledore down," Edward said.

Edward was right. Hagrid was the only one who ever sent me letters. He would never betray Dumbledore. He was the only one who knew how to get past Fluffy. He would never tell anyone…never…"

"Oh my gosh, we have to go see Hagrid now!" I said, jumping to my feet.

"Why, what's the matter?" Bella asked.

"Don't you think it's odd that the one thing Hagrid wants most is a dragon, and he just happens to meet someone with an illegal dragon egg? I don't know why I didn't see it before."

"Hullo," Hagrid said, greeting us as we walked up to his hut. "Finished yer exams? Want a drink?"

Yes—"

"Not now, Hagrid," I said, interrupting Rosalie. "I need to ask you something."

"Okay."

"The man you won Norbert from, what did he look like?"

"Dunno. Never took his cloak off."

"What did you talk about? Did you mention Hogwarts?"

"Might have come up…yeah, it did. I told him I was gamekeeper and all the different kinds o' creature I looked after. He wanted to make sure I could care fer a dragon. He kept buyin' me drinks, so I can't remember too well. I remember I told him that after Fluffy, a dragon would be easy."

"Was he interested in Fluffy?" I said, trying to keep my voice calm.

"Well, o' course he was. How many three-headed dogs do yeh see? But I told him, the trick with any animal is to know how ter calm 'em down. Take Fluffy: just play him a bit o' music, and he falls asleep." He looked shocked with what he had just said. "I shouldn'ta told yeh that!"

I ran towards the castle with Bella, Rosalie, and Edward following me.

"We have to go to Dumbledore!" I said to them. We ran inside, but we had no clue where Dumbledore's office was.

"What are you three doing inside?" Professor McGonagall asked us, approaching us with a pile of books.

"We need to see Professor Dumbledore," Bella said.

"Why?" she asked, looking at us suspiciously.

"It's a secret," I said.

"Professor Dumbledore was called away by the Minister of Magic. He left 10 minutes ago.

"You mean he's…gone?" I choked out. "But this is important!"

"Something you have to say is more important than that Minister of Magic?" she snapped at me.

"It's about the Sorcerer's Stone!" I said. "Someone's going to try and steal it!"

She looked at me, shocked as she dropped the books in her arms.

"I don't know how you found out about it, but I assure you it is well protected.. No one can possible steal it."

"But—"

"Ms. Brandon, I know what I am talking about. Now go outside and enjoy the weather."

"It's tonight," I whispered to the others after Professor McGonagall had left. "Snape's going through the trapdoor. He found out everything. He even got Dumbledore to leave with a fake letter from the Minister."

"But what can we—"

Bella gasped. Standing behind us was Snape.

"Hello," he said, smiling at us. "You should be outside on a day like today. You want to be careful. Hanging around like this, people are going to think you're up to something. But be warned, Alice. Any more nighttime strolls, and I will make sure you are expelled. Good day."

The four of us headed back to Gryffindor tower after dinner.

"I'm going after it. I'm going down that trap door tonight to try and get the stone before Snape does."

"You can't! You'll be expelled!" Bella shrieked.

"SO WHAT? Don't you get it? If Snape get's the Stone, Voldemort's back. It won't matter if I'm expelled or not. He'll flatten Hogwarts and turn it into a school for the Dark Arts! He won't care if Gryffindor has more points. If I get caught, I'll go back to the Prunley's and wait for him to kill me there. Because I'm NEVER going over to the dark side. He killed my parents!"

"You're right," Rosalie said.

"I'll use the invisibility cloak. It's lucky I got it back."

"Will it cover all of us?" Edward asked.

"What?"

"Do you honestly think we're going to let you go alone? We're in this together!"

"But if you get caught, you'll get expelled," I said.

"Please," Bella scoffed. "Flitwick told me in private I got a 115% on the exam. There's no way they're throwing me out after that!"


	10. Well, That Was Unexpected

Chapter 9: Well, That Was Unexpected…

The four of us sat around the common room, waiting for it to empty so we could sneak out and head down the trap door. None of us were talking. We were too nervous about what we had to do.

Bella was going over her notes to look for ideas of what we might face. Rosalie and Edward were playing wizard's chess. I was sitting, breathing in and out.

The only people still left in the common room were Fred, George, and Emmett, and neither of them looked our way. They still wouldn't speak to us after we lost all those points.

Finally, they headed to bed after shooting an angry glare in our direction. For the first time, it didn't bother me.

"You better go get the cloak," Edward whispered to me. I darted up into my dormitory and grabbed the invisibility cloak from my trunk. I saw the flute Hagrid gave me for Christmas, grabbed that too, then ran back down the stairs to join the others.

"Here, let's put the cloak on before we go out so there's no way we'll be seen," I whispered to them as I reached the bottom stair. "We don't want Filch seeing a random foot wandering the corridors."

"What are you doing?" a voice said. The four of us turned and saw Ron sitting in one of the chairs.

"Go away, Ron" Rosalie told her brother.

Wait, this seemed familiar…

"You're going out again."

"No, it's not—"

"I know you are. You can't. You'll get caught, and Gryffindor will be in even more trouble!"

"You don't understand," Edward told Ron. "This is important!"

"I won't let you!" he said, moving in front of the portrait hole. "Rosalie, I won't let you!"

"Ron, move out of the way and stop being stupid!" Rosalie hissed at him.

"I'm not stupid! And you said I should stand up to Fred and George!"

"Fred and George, yes. Us, no!" Ron stayed where he was.

"Do something!" Edward hissed at Bella.

"Ron, I'm really sorry. _Petrificus Totalus_!" Ron's arms and legs snapped together, and he fell to the ground, stiff as a board.

"What did you do to him?" I asked, shocked.

"The full Body-Bind. Oh, Ron, I'm really sorry. Please forgive me," she said to the still form of Ron Weasley, who was looking up at the four of us with horror.

Let's go," I said, tearing my eyes away from Ron and throwing the cloak over the four of us.

We carefully made our way out of the portrait hole and through the corridors. We saw Nearly-Headless Nick floating by, but other than him, we didn't run into anybody.

We had almost made it to the third floor corridor when we saw Peeves loosening the chandelier on the ceiling so it would fall on somebody's head. I motioned to the others to head in the other direction, when Bella tripped and fell into a suit of armor. It fell to the ground with an ear-shattering crash.

We heard footsteps hitting the ground as Filch ran toward the source of the noise.

"Run!" I hissed at the others. We sprinted under the cloak up the stairs to the third floor.

"Why do you have to be so clumsy, Bella?" Edward asked angrily.

"I'm sorry!" Bella apologized.

"If we get caught, I'll kill you!"

"Shut up, both of you!" I hissed. I could still hear Filch walking around underneath us.

"Peeves," he muttered before stalking off in the other direction.

"Okay, let's go," I said. We continued until we made it to the third-floor corridor—where the door was already slightly ajar.

"Great. Snape's already made it past Fluffy. If you three want to go back now, I won't blame you," I said to them. "You can take the cloak—I don't need it down there."

"Don't be stupid," Edward said.

"Yeah, we're coming with you," Rosalie added.

"We're all in this together. Besides, I don't know if we'd make it back to the dorms without me crashing onto something. We're safer here, with you," Bella said, smiling.

I pushed the door open. A deep growling greeted us as Fluffy looked up, searching for the disturbance. The dog still couldn't see us since we were under the cloak.

I pulled out the flute. "Someone's going to have to play to put it to sleep," I said quietly.

"Give it to me," Edward said, handing out his hand. "I'm the best musician in my family." I handed him Hagrid's flue, and he began to play a soft lullaby that made me want to fall asleep.

The effect was instantaneous. The dog's six eyes began to droop, and Fluffy was fast asleep a minute later.

"Keep playing," Rosalie commanded Edward as we pulled the cloak off and walked over to the trap door.

"Here, help me move its paw so we can open this," I said to Rosalie and Bella. They both walked over to me, but Bella tripped over something on the floor and fell into the dog.

"Careful, Bella," Edward hissed, pulling the flute from his mouth. As soon as he stopped playing, Fluffy's eyes opened and he started growling.

"Edward!" I hissed. He put the flute back to his lips and began playing again. Fluffy instantly fell back asleep.

We got the door open and I peered into it, seeing nothing except blackness.

"Can you see what's down there?" Rosalie asked. I shook my head.

"It's all black. We can't climb down—we'll have to jump. I'll go first. If something happens to me, don't follow. I want you to go to the owlery and send Venus to Dumbledore, okay?"

They nodded.

"Okay, see you in a minute—I hope."

I jumped down. It felt like I was falling for ages until I landed in something soft. It felt like some kind of plant.

"It's okay!" I called up to Rosalie, Bella, and Edward. "It's a soft landing."

Rosalie jumped down next, followed immediately by Bella and Edward. I could hear Fluffy barking after Edward jumped.

"Lucky this plant thing was here to break the fall," Edward said.

"_Lucky! _Look at you guys!" Bella shrieked, pulling herself up and out of the plant. I looked down and gasped. The tendrils of the plant had wrapped themselves around my arms and legs, making it impossible for me to escape. I started struggling, but they just wrapped themselves tighter around me.

I looked over, and saw Rosalie and Edward were struggling against the constricting plant also.

"Stop moving!" Bella hissed. "I know what this is—it's Devil's Snare."

"Oh, I'm thrilled we know what it's called. I was worried we were up against an unnamed killer plant!" Edward said sarcastically, trying to keep the plant from wrapping itself around his neck.

"Stop moving!" she said again. "If you keep struggling with it, it'll only kill you faster."

"Kill me faster? Oh, I don't want to make it _too _easy," Rosalie said angrily.

"Shut up, all of you. I'm trying to remember how to kill it! Devil's Snare, Devil's Snare, it likes the cold and damp—"

"So light a fire!" I gasped as the Devil's Snare wrapped around my neck, cutting off my oxygen supply.

"Yes—of course—if only I had some wood…"

"_HAVE YOU GONE MAD? ARE YOU A WITCH OR NOT?_" Edward bellowed at her. "_USE YOUR WAND!_"

"Oh, right," she said, turning red. She pulled out her wand, muttered some spell. Blue flames shot out of the tip of her wand. Immediately, the Devil's Snare loosened its grip on Rosalie, Edward, and I, trying to escape the warmth from the flames. It unraveled its tendrils, and the three of us were able to pull ourselves free.

"Thanks," I said to Bella as she helped me up. "It's a good thing you pay attention in Herbology."

"It's a good thing Alice doesn't lose her head in a crisis—'there's no wood!'—honestly, you call yourself a witch," Edward muttered. Bella glared at him.

"Well, excuse me, but I believe I'm the one who just saved your life!"

"Guys, shut up! Follow me—it's this way, I think," I said, walking down a passageway. The four of us walked deeper and deeper, unsure of what we were going to meet next.

"Hey, do you hear something?" Edward whispered to me. I cocked my ear to the side, and heard a rustling sound.

"It's coming from up ahead.," Bella whispered.

"What do you think it is?" Rosalie asked.

"I dunno—it sounds like wings," I said, unsure.

"Look, there's a light!" Bella exclaimed, pointing. Sure enough, there was a room ahead, illuminated by a light. We walked in, and saw many colorful birds glittering from the ceiling.

"Will they attack us if we cross?" Bella asked.

"I don't know. Let's try," I said, grabbing Rosalie's hand. Shoot!

"_Hand it over, Brandon, or I'll kill her!" a voice sneered at me. In front of me, a hooded man was pointing his wand at Rosalie's throat. She looked terrified._

_In my hand, I was holding a small, glass orb._

"_Don't give it to him, Alice!" Rosalie shouted. "Don't do it! If you give it to him, we're all dead!"_

"_Shut up!" he snarled, jabbing his wand into her neck. She winced in pain._

"_Hand it over!" he shouted again. _

_I shook my head. "Never!"_

"_Very well," he said, shoving Rosalie on the ground. "Crucio!" A jet of red light came out of his wand and hit Rosalie. She screamed in pain, her knees buckling inward. She fell to the floor, still screaming and writhing in pain. The man pulled his wand off Rosalie. She stopped screaming, but was gasping for air._

"_Give me the prophecy, or she gets it, just like your parents. Do you really want to be responsible for the death of a friend? Your parents had a choice. Now, so do you. Make your choice!"_

_I looked over at Rosalie's terror-filled eyes, then back to the orb in my hand, then back to Rosalie. She shook her head at me._

_I had to make a decision._

_There was a flash of green light, my scar burned, and a cold, high-pitched laughter filled my ears._

"Alice! Snap out of it!" Rosalie said, shaking me.

"Sorry," I said, shaking my head. "Okay, let's try and cross the room." The four of us sprinted across to the door on the other side, but the birds didn't do anything. Edward tried opening the door, but it didn't budge. He even tried Alohomora, but it didn't work.

"What are we supposed to do now?" Edward asked.

"These birds," Bella said, staring at the ceiling. "They can't just be here for decoration."

I looked up at the glittering birds. Wait a minute—birds don't glitter…

"They're not birds, they're keys!" Rosalie gasped. "Winged keys, which must mean one of them fits the door!"

"How are we supposed to catch them?" Edward asked. "We can't fly."

"We can't, but those can," I said, pointing to a few broomsticks on the side of the room. "I think we've got to catch the key that fits the door."

"How are we supposed to find it?" Rosalie whined. "There're hundreds of them!"

Edward looked at the door. "We're looking for a big silver one, probably old fashioned, like the door."

"Bella, you stay on the ground and help us search," I said, grabbing one of the brooms. There were only three brooms, and Rosalie and Edward were better fliers than she was.

"Good idea. I'd probably kill someone if I got in the air. I'm enough of a walking disaster on land."

Rosalie, Edward, and I kicked off the ground while Bella stared up at the flying keys. Every time we approached a patch of keys, they darted to the side, making it impossible to catch them.

It was hard, but a little easier for me. I was a Seeker—I saw things that other people tended to miss. I saw a key that was flying slower than the others were. Its wing on the left side was bent.

"There!" Bella shouted, pointing to the key I had just spotted. "That one there! Its wings are all bent."

"Rosalie, you go to the left. Edward, you go right, and I'll come from underneath." The three of us flew and cornered the key. Finally, I was able to grab it. I hopped off the broom and jammed the key in the lock, then turned the knob, opening the door.

The four of us entered the next room. It was completely dark, but when we walked in, the torches let. We were on a giant board with a checkered pattern. There were a bunch of black and white figures all over the floor. It looked like a—

"It's a chess board!" Rosalie exclaimed.

"What do we do?" I asked.

"It's obvious, isn't it?" she asked. "We have to play our way across."

"How?"

"I think—I think we have to take the places of some of the black pieces. Excuse me," she said, touching a black knight next to her. He sprang to life and looked at Rosalie. "Do we have to play with you?" He nodded his head.

"Okay, hold on a moment, I need to think about this." Rosalie walked onto the chessboard and looked at each of the pieces. "Don't be offended or anything, but none of you are very good at chess."

"We're not offended, just tell us what to do," Edward said.

"Right. Alice, you take the place of that bishop, Bella and Edward, you guys be the two castles, and I'll be a knight." The four black chess pieces got up and walked off the board, leaving four empty spaces. We all took our places on the board.

"Now what?" I asked.

"Well, white always moves first, then we play." A white pawn moved forward two squares at that moment. Rosalie began directing the black pieces across the board like soldiers in battle.

It was just like a battle. Each time one of our men was taken by a white piece, they showed no mercy, the white queen especially. She was ruthless, smashing into black pieces left and right. My knees started shaking as the game progressed; what if we lost? What happened then?

Every time Rosalie saw that Edward, Bella, or I was in danger of being taken, she swooped across the board, taking as many pieces as we had lost. Eventually, there were only a few pieces left on either side.

"Let me think," Rosalie muttered, staring at the blank face of the white queen. "Yes…it's the only option…I have to be taken," she said without an ounce of fear in her voice.

"No!" the three of us shouted.

"That's chess," she snapped. "I'll sacrifice myself. The queen will move to take me, leaving you free to take the king, Alice."

"There has to be another way!" I said.

"Do you want to stop Snape?"

"Yes, but—"

"Alice, you're supposed to go on. I'm not the one who's supposed to fight Snape—you are! If you don't let me go, Snape'll get the stone and he'll come back! Do you really want that?"

I shook my head.

"Okay, once she takes me, you checkmate the king. Don't stick around afterwards, just go on. Good luck, Alice. I know you can do it!" Rosalie looked ahead, and she moved forward. The queen moved towards her until she was right next to Rosalie. She lifted her arm in the air and whacked Rosalie on the head. She fell to the ground and was dragged off the board. Bella screamed, but made sure not to move. I looked over at Rosalie, but she wasn't moving.

I moved forward four spaces until I was directly in front of the white king. "Checkmate!"

The king bowed and tossed his crown to me. We had won! The rest of the chess pieces moved to the side, revealing the door that led to the next room.

"C'mon, let's go!" I said, running to the door. Bella and Edward followed me.

"What's next?" Edward asked.

"Well, Sprout had the Devil's Snare, Flitwick charmed the keys, and McGonagall transfigured the chessboard— so all we have left is Quirrell's anti-dark obstacle and Snape."

We walked into the next room, and a horrible smell filled our noses. It was like pressing your nostrils up against a cow's butt. The three of us started gagging, unable to breathe.

"Over there!" Edward gasped pointing to the left. On the ground was a large, unconscious mountain troll—twice the size of the one we defeated in the beginning of the year.

"Thank god we didn't have to fight that one—c'mon, let's go," I whispered as we walked into the next room.

In the room, there was a table with seven different bottles on it. Edward, Bella, and I stepped over the threshold, and a wall of fire immediately appeared in the doorway. There was fire blocking the doorway leading forward, too. We were trapped!

"Look," Bella said, grabbing a roll of parchment off the table. She read it aloud:

_Danger lies before you, while safety lies behind,  
Two of us will help you, whichever you would find,  
One among us seven will let you move ahead,  
Another will transport the drinker back instead,  
Two among our number hold only nettle wine,  
Three of us are killers, waiting hidden in line.  
Choose, unless you wish to stay here forevermore,  
To help you in your choice, we give you these clues four:  
First, however slyly the poison tries to hide  
You will always find some on nettle wine's left side;  
Second, different are those who stand at either end,  
But if you would move onward, neither is your friend;  
Third, as you see clearly, all are different size,  
Neither dwarf nor giant holds death in their insides;  
Fourth, the second left and the second on the right,  
Are twins once you taste them, though different at first sight._

Bella gasped, then let out a long sigh. I looked at her, expecting to say how this was impossible, but she had on a huge smile.

"_Brilliant!_ It's not magic—it's logic! Most wizards don't have an ounce of logic in them. They'd be stuck here forever."

"Great," I said miserably. "We're never going to stop Snape from getting the stone."

"Yes, we will. Everything we need is on this paper. Just give me a minute to figure it out."

Edward and I stared at her, dumbfounded, as she walked up and down the line of bottles, rereading the paper, muttering to herself, and pointing to the bottles.

"Got it!" she said excitedly. "This small one in the middle will transport you forward, while this orange one at the end will take you back."

"There's only enough for one person in the small one," I said, picking it up. "There's barely one sip. Listen, you two share the orange bottle—no, listen to me! Drink it, go back and get Rosalie, take the brooms from the key room, fly out of the trap door and head up to the owlery and send Venus to Dumbledore—I'm going to need him in there. I don't know how long I'll be able to hold Snape off."

"What if You-Know-Who's there too?" Edward asked, worried.

"I was lucky once," I said, pointing to my scar. "Maybe I'll get luck again."

"Oh, Alice!" Bella said, throwing her arms around me, being careful not to touch my skin.

"Bella!"

"Alice, please be careful! You're a great witch, you know that?"

"You really are," Edward added.

"What about you guys? Bella, you're the smartest witch I've ever met."

"Me? All I have is book smarts. There're more important things then knowing a lot of information—like bravery and friendship! I don't know where I would be without you, so please be careful!"

"I will, now you both go!" I said, shoving them towards the doorway we came through.

Bella and Edward each took a sip of the potion, then shivered.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"Nothing. It just feels like ice," Bella said.

"Go now, before it wears off," I said. They both walked through the flames. Instead of burning them, the fire licked around their bodies.

"Well, here goes nothing," I said to myself, downing the potion. It was like ice had filled my body. Shivering, I walked though the flames. I saw the fire surrounding my body, but I couldn't feel it. For a moment, everything was black, but then I saw a figure.

It wasn't Snape.

It wasn't Voldemort.

It was Quirrell.

"You?" I said, confused.

"Yes, me," he said calmly, staring at me. He didn't flinch or look worried. "I was waiting for you to arrive, Alice."

"But—Snape—I thought—"

"Severus?" he laughed. "No, no, no. I mean, he seems the type, which was very convenient, because who would suspect p-p-poor st-stuttering P-Professor Quirrell next to the evil potions master?"

"But he tried to kill me! At the Quidditch match!"

"Silly girl, _I_ tried to kill you, and I would have succeeded, even with Snape muttering his little counter curse, if your friend, Miss Swan, hadn't knocked me over, breaking my eye contact."

"Snape was trying to…save me?"

"Of course! Why do you think he wanted to referee your next match? Everyone thought he wanted to stop Gryffindor from winning, but it was really to keep an eye on me. It wasn't necessary—I couldn't do anything with Dumbledore watching. Snape did make himself unpopular—what a waste, since I'm going to kill you tonight." His voice was much colder than it normally was, and he didn't have his stutter anymore. He snapped his fingers, and thick ropes sprang out of the air and wrapped themselves around my body like the Devil's Snare. "You're too nosy to live, Alice. Like on Halloween, running around the castle. For all I knew, you'd seen me go and look for the stone."

"You let troll in?" I gasped. This couldn't be happening. Professor Quirrell, the teacher who was always willing to help me, wanted the stone? But why?

"Of course I did. I've always had a knack with trolls—you must have seen what I did with the one back there. While everyone was preoccupied with the troll, I headed up to the third floor. Snape, however, wasn't fooled. He raced me up there—and not only did the troll fail to kill you, the dog failed to bite Snape's leg fully off. Now be quiet, Alice, while I examine this mirror."

I looked over, and saw Quirrell standing in front of the Mirror of Erised.

I knew this! I had seen this! The first time I met Quirrell, I saw this! I remember being in this room, looking at a grotesque face with a pair of red eyes.

"This mirror is the key to finding the stone," he said to himself. "I see the stone—I'm presenting it to my master, but how do I get it? Trust Dumbledore to come up with something like this—he's in London, and I'll be far away by the time he returns…"

Many thoughts kept racing through my head—I _had _to get the stone before Quirrell, but how?

"I saw you and Snape in the forest!" I blurted out, trying to distract him.

"Yes, he had figured out I was after the stone by that point. He was always suspicious of me—he wanted to see how much I had discovered by then—tried to frighten me…foolish when I had Lord Voldemort on my side."

"But I thought Snape hates me."

"Oh, he does. He was at school with your parents, and he loathed your father, but he never wanted you dead."

"I heard you sobbing a few days ago—wasn't Snape threatening you?"

Quirrell looked frightened for a moment before regaining his composure. "I sometimes find it difficult to follow my master's orders—he is, after all, a great wizard, and I am weak."

"You mean, he was in the _classroom_ with you?" I gasped.

"He is always with me. I met him in my travels. I was a foolish man then—Lord Voldemort showed me how wrong I was about good and evil. He showed me the path to greatness—I have served him faithfully ever since. After my failed attempt to steal the stone from Gringotts, he decided he needed to keep a closer watch on me—he does not forgive easily."

How could I have been so stupid? I had seen Quirrell in Diagon Alley that day! I looked back at him while he cursed under his breath, still glaring at the mirror.

"I don't understand—is it inside the mirror?"

I had to stop him. What I wanted more than anything else was to find the stone before Quirrell. Not to use it, but to stop him from using it. If I looked in the mirror, I should see myself finding it, so I would know where it is—then, I could find it.

I tried edging myself over to the mirror without Quirrell seeing, but I fell over. Quirrell ignored me, too consumed with getting the stone.

"I don't understand what to do! Help me master!"

A weak voice spoke. I didn't see from where, but it sounded like it came from Quirrell. "Use the girl…the girl…"

Quirrell walked up to me, grabbed my robes, and pulled me to my feet. He carried me over and put me in front of the mirror. He snapped his fingers, and the ropes fell off me.

"Tell me what you see," he said.

_I have to lie. I have to lie._

I looked in, and at first, I only saw my reflection. She smiled at me and waved, then put her hand in her pocket. She pulled out a blood-red stone, showed it to me, and then put it back in. I felt something hard press against my leg, and realized, somehow, I had gotten the stone.

"What do you see?" Quirrell asked impatiently.

"I'm standing with Bella, Edward, and Rosalie—we're hanging out in the summer. I'm away from my family."

"Get out of the way," he snarled, pushing me to the ground. I felt the stone crush against my leg. I quickly got to my feet, then started walking away quickly, trying to get out before Quirrell noticed, but I wasn't fast enough.

"She lies…she lies…"

"Alice! Come back here! Tell me what you saw!"

"Let me speak to her," the voice whispered, "face-to-face."

"Master, you aren't strong enough," Quirrell said, worried.

"I'm strong enough for this. Let me talk to her…"

As Quirrell's hands moved up to his turban, I couldn't move. I was rooted to the spot, gaping at Quirrell. The purple turban fell to the floor, and Quirrell slowly turned away from me.

I gasped when I saw the back of Quirrell's head. Instead of hair, there was face, the face from my vision. The face was pale white, like a vampire. He had red eyes and slits for a nose that reminded me of a snake.

"Do you see what I have become?" he rasped. "A mere shadow of what I once was, dependent on others to keep me alive...I have to depend on unicorn blood—you saw Quirrell in the forest drinking it for me. Once I have the Elixir of Life, I can create a body for myself, but that's not all I can do with it.I can help you. I can give you everything you've wanted. I can bring your parents back. All I need is what's in your pocket.

I reached for the pocket of my robe and felt the Stone. I pulled it out of my pocket and looked at it.

"That's it, Alice. Hand it over, and everything will be okay." I saw the hungry look in his eyes.

"You're lying!" I shouted.

"Don't be a fool!" he hissed. "Join me, and your parents won't have died in vain."

"Never! I'll NEVER go over to the dark side!" I turned and sprinted towards the flame barrier, but Voldemort was ready.

"SEIZE HER!" he shouted at Quirrell. Suddenly, I felt Quirrell's hands close around my throat. Instead of seeing a vision, my scar exploded with pain. It felt like someone was ripping my head open. I wanted the pain to end, I wanted it to be over.

At that moment, the pain stopped. I looked up and saw Quirrell backing away from me, his hands blistering.

"Master—I can't—my hands—my hands!"

"SEIZE HER!" Voldemort shrieked. Quirrell jumped on me again, but a moment later, he released me, howling with pain.

"KILL HER!"

Before Quirrell could do anything, I jumped up and grabbed his face. My scar exploded with pain, but I looked down and saw Quirrell's face burning before me. Quirrell grabbed me around the waist and flung me to the floor. My only chance of survival was to keep holding on to Quirrell.

Everything around me started to go black. I could hear Quirrell's screams, Voldemort's shouts of "KILL HER! KILL HER!" and a soft voice calling my name.

***

There was something gold above me. The Snitch! I tried to grab it, but my arms felt like cinderblocks. I opened my eyes, and saw it wasn't the Snitch, but a pair of glasses. Wearing the glasses was Professor Dumbledore.

"Good afternoon, Alice," Dumbledore greeted me, smiling.

Suddenly, a bunch of memories flooded back to me, all at once.

"Sir! The Stone! Quirrell! He has it! He—"

"Calm down, Alice. You are behind the times. Quirrell does not have the stone."

"He doesn't? But sir, then who—"

"Alice, you must relax, or Madam Pomfrey will throw me out."

I looked up at him, nodded, and relaxed in my bed. I must be in the hospital wing. I wondered how I got here. On the table next to me, there was an enormous pile of sweets.

"Tokens from your many admirers. What happened in the dungeons between you and Professor Quirrell is a secret. So, naturally, the whole school knows."

"How long have I been here?" I asked.

"Three days. Your friends Miss Rosalie Weasley, Mr. Edward Cullen, and Miss Isabella Swan were all very worried. They'll be happy to hear that you are now awake."

"But the Stone!"

"Ah, I see you are not distracted. Very well. Professor Quirrell was unable to take the Stone from you. I arrived in time to prevent that, however, you were doing very well on your own."

"You got Bella's owl?"

"We must have crossed paths. When I arrived in London, I realized I was needed here and turned around. I arrived just in time to pull Quirrell off you—"

"It _was_ you!"

"I feared I might be too late."

"You almost were. A few more minutes and Quirrell would have gotten—"

"Not the Stone! You! The effort involved nearly killed you—for a moment, I feared it had. As for the Stone, it has been destroyed."

"But your friend—Nicolas Flamel—he'll die!"

"Nicolas and I had a chat, and decided it's for the best. He and his wife have enough Elixir to set their affairs in order, and then, yes, they will die."

I looked at him, stunned.

"To Nicolas and his wife, it is like going to sleep after a very, very long day. After all, to the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure."

"Sir, even though it's gone, Vol-, I mean, You-Know-Who—"

"Call him Voldemort, Alice. Fear of the name increases fear of the thing itself."

"Yes, sir. Well, Voldemort 's going to try and come back another way, isn't he? I mean, he's not gone, right?"

Dumbledore sighed. "No, he is not gone. He's out there, looking for another body to share. Not being fully alive, he cannot be killed. He left Quirrell to die—he treats his followers with as little mercy as his foes. While you only delayed his return, as long as there are those who are willing to fight a seemingly losing battle, he may never return to power."

"Sir, I have a few questions."

"I will try to answer, but some things I cannot answer at this time, and I will tell you so. However, I promise not to lie."

"Why did Voldemort try to kill me in the first place?"

Dumbledore sighed. "That I cannot answer you today. Someday, yes. But not today. When you are older, you will be ready to know."

Even though I wanted to know, I knew it was pointless to argue with him.

"Why couldn't Quirrell touch me?"

"Your mother dies to save you. That left a mark upon you. While it cannot be seen, it is there. She loved you very much, and that love and protection is still alive in you. If there is one thing Voldemort cannot understand, it is love. He is so filled with hatred and greed, that he cannot harm something so good."

"The invisibility cloak—do you know who sent it?"

"I did. Your father left it with me shortly before he died. IO thought you might like it."

"There's another thing. Quirrell said Snape—"

"Professor Snape."

"Yes, him. He said he hates me because he hated my father. Is that true?"

"Well, they did dislike each other, like yourself and Mr. Malfoy. Then, your father did something Professor Snape could never forgive."

"What?"

"He saved his life."

"He what?"

"Yes, funny thing, isn't it? Professor Snape couldn't bear being in your father's debt, which is why, I believe, he worked so hard to protect you this year. Now he can go back to hating your father's memory in peace."

"And another thing…this year, I've been having these flashes whenever I touch someone. I realized that I'm seeing the future. The first time shook Quirrell's hand, I saw myself in the dungeon, facing Voldemort. Do you know why that happens?"

"I do not. I believe it has something to do with the scar on your forehead and the attempted murder of you when you were a baby."

"Sir, one more thing?"

"Yes?"

"How did I get the Stone?"

Dumbledore smiled dreamily at me. "Ah, one of my more brilliant ideas. You see, the person who could get the Stone was the person who wanted to find it, but not use it. If they were planning on using it, they would just see themselves dinking the Elixir of Life or making gold. Sometimes my brain even surpasses me." He chuckled to himself. "Now, enough questions. Why don't you enjoy some of your sweets?"

***

"Just five minutes?" I pleaded with Madam Pomfrey.

"No, absolutely not."

"But you let Professor Dumbledore in!"

"Yes, well, he's the headmaster. You need your rest."

"Look, I'm in bed. I'm resting. Please?"

"Alright, but only five minutes." She let Bella, Rosalie, and Edward in.

"Alice!" they all shouted, rushing to my bed. Bella, of course, tripped on the way over.

They sat down next to me, and I told them everything that happened, about Quirrell, about the cloak, about Flamel, everything.

"So, he's just going to die?" Bella gasped.

I nodded. "But Dumbledore said it's alright. He said—after all, to the well organized mind, death is but the next great adventure—or something like that."

"I always thought he was mad," Edward said.

"So, what happened with you three?"

"Well, we went back and grabbed Rosalie, then flew out the trap door and ran towards the owlery, but we ran into Dumbledore on the way. He saw us and said, 'Alice went to fight him, didn't she?' and ran off towards the third floor."

We all sat there, pondering the past week's events.

"Well, you'll have to some to the feast," Edward finally said. "We lost the last Quidditch match without you—Ravenclaw killed us, so Slytherin is in first—but the food'll be good."

***

"Can I go to the feast?" I asked Madam Pomfrey the next day.

"Professor Dumbledore said you may," she sniffed, obviously disagreeing with Dumbledore's opinion. "And you have a visitor."

"Really?" I asked. Just then, Hagrid came in.

"It's all me fault," he sobbed. "It's all me ruddy fault. If I hadn't told the evil git how ter get past Fluffy, yeh wouldn't be here! I should be chucked out and made ter live like a Muggle!"

"Hagrid, he'd have found out somehow. This is _Voldemort_ we're talking about!"

"Yeh could've died! And don' say the name!"

"VOLDEMORT!" I shouted at him. He looked at me, stunned. "Look, I've met him, and I'm going to call him by his name now. We saved the Stone, it's gone. Cheer up, have a Chocolate Frog…I've got tons."

"I got a present fer yeh," he said, pulling something out of his coat. He handed me a leather-bound book. "It's pictures of yer mom an' dad. Though yeh might like it, since I figured yeh didn't have any pictures of yer own."

"Thank you, Hagrid," I said, giving him a big hug. I brought my blanket up to my eyes and wiped away the tears that were now falling.

***

That night, I went down to the end-of-the-year feast. When I walked in, everyone stopped talking, looked at me, then resumed their conversations. I sat down next to Edward, Bella, and Rosalie. Across the table, Jasper gave me a smile and a wink. I smiled back at him. All around the Great Hall, people were trying to look at me.

The Great Hall was decked out in green and silver, in honor of Slytherin winning the cup for the seventh year in a row.

Dumbledore stood up, cleared his throat, and everyone became silent.

"Another year! I hope your heads are fuller than they were at the beginning. Hopefully, you will have time this summer to empty them out. Now, it's time to award the house cup. IN fourth place, with 262 points, is Gryffindor. In third place, with 352 points, is Hufflepuff. In second place, with 426 points, is Ravenclaw. And in first place, with 472 points, is Slytherin."

A round of cheering broke out from the Slytherin table. I sighed.

"Yes, yes. Well done, Slytherin. However, recent events must be taken into account I have a few last-minute points to award. First, to Mr. Edward Cullen." Edward's eyes became as large as Galleons as he stared up at Dumbledore. "For creating magic far greater than we do here, I award Gryffindor 50 points."

All the Gryffindors began applauding as Emmett grabbed Edward and gave him a big hug.

"Second, to Miss Rosalie Weasley, for the best game of chess Hogwarts has seen in many years, I award Gryffindor 50 points."

Rosalie buried her face as Fred and George kissed her on her cheeks and Percy boasted to anyone that could hear, "My sister, you know. My sister got past McGonagall's giant chessboard!"

"Third, to Miss Isabella Swan, for the use of cool logic in the face of fire, I award Gryffindor 50 points." Bella turned bright red as everyone around her shook her hand and congratulated her.

"Fourth, to Miss Alice Brandon, for pure nerve and courage, I award Gryffindor 60 points."

The applause was overwhelming. Anyone who could do quick math realized we were now tied with Slytherin. If only Dumbledore had given me one more point!

Dumbledore raised his hands, and everyone fell silent. "There are all kinds of courage. It takes a lot to stand up to our enemies, and even more to stand up to our friends. The most, however, is needed when we stand up to our closest friends—our own family. Therefore, I award 10 points to Mr. Ronald Weasley.

It was like a bomb went off in the Great Hall. Even the Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws were celebrating the downfall of Slytherin. Everyone was hugging Ron as Fred and George hoisted him onto their shoulders.

"If my math is correct, which it is, we are in need of new decorations!" He clapped his hands twice, and the silver and green turned to scarlet and gold. I looked over and saw Snape shaking Professor McGonagall's hand, looking bitter. He glared at me, and I knew his feelings hadn't changed at all.

***

After the feast, exam results were released. Everyone passed, even Dean, whose Charms grade made up for Potions. Bella and Hermione Granger tied for the best in the year, something Bella was still grumbling about on the Hogwarts Express.

"Oh, cheer up!" Edward said, throwing his arm around her shoulders. "You still know you did better than all of us."

"I just wish I could have been the best," she said, looking at the ground.

"Hey, whatever happened with you two?" Rosalie asked. "You guys were like, best friends in the beginning of the year!"

"Oh, right. Well, she was too much of a know-it-all, and she was always trying to correct what I was saying and doing. I just couldn't take it anymore. Anyways, she found new friends—she's been hanging out with your brother and Harry."

On the train ride back, we played wizard's chess and Exploding Snap while eating sweets. Jasper and Emmett came in and sat with us for a while, joking and talking about Quidditch. Once we arrived back at King's Cross, we crossed though the barrier in twos and threes.

"Promise you'll come stay this summer!" Rosalie said to me. "All of you. Edward, I know you'll be there since Emmett'll be there. I'll send an owl to you guys once I clear it with Mum."

"Thanks—at least I'll have one piece of mail this summer."

As I walked though the station with my friends, people called to me.

"Bye, Alice!"

"See you next year, Brandon!"

"You're still famous," Rosalie said, linking arms with me.

"Not at my house," I said, spotting Uncle John, Aunt Samantha, and April standing next to a woman with fiery red hair. I recognized her as Rosalie's mom.

"Busy year?" she asked Rosalie as we approached them.

"Yes," she said, kissing her mother on the cheek.

"Thanks for the sweater and fudge, Mrs. Weasley. It was really thoughtful."

"It was nothing, dear."

"Are you ready?" snapped Uncle John. "I want to get out of here before anyone I know sees us."

"You must be Alice's family!" Mrs. Weasley exclaimed.

"Unfortunately," Uncle John snarled.

I hung back for a minute with Bella, Rosalie, and Edward.

"Hope you have—er—a good holiday," Bella said, looking uneasily at Uncle John.

"Oh, I will," I said, smiling and crumpling the warning about using magic over the summer. "_They_ don't know we can't use magic. I'm going to have a lot of fun with April!"

Laughing, I waved goodbye to Rosalie, Edward, and Bella as I followed Uncle John, Aunt Samantha, and April out to the car.


	11. The Worst Summer with the Best Escape

Chapter 10: The Worst Summer with the Best Escape

"I want another cinnamon bun!" April whined at breakfast. The summer vacations had officially started, and I was as miserable as ever at the Prunley's house. I was sitting at the kitchen table with Uncle John, Aunt Samantha, and April, eating breakfast.

"There're more in the basket on the counter, darling," Aunt Samantha said to her.

"Go get me the pastry basket," April ordered me.

"You forgot the magic word," I said, looking down at my cereal. I wasn't prepared for the reaction that followed my statement.

April gasped and fell off her chair while Aunt Samantha stared wide-eyed at me and Uncle John's face turned purple.

"I meant 'please,'" I said meekly. "I didn't mean—"

"WHAT HAVE WE TOLD YOU ABOUT SAYING THE 'M' WORD IN THIS HOUSE?" Uncle John thundered.

"But—"

"HOW DARE YOU THREATEN APRIL! HOW DARE YOU BRING UP YOUR ABNORMALNESS AROUND US!"

"I just—"

"I'M WARNING YOU, I WILL NOT TOLERATE IT ANYMORE! DO YOU HEAR ME?"

"Okay, okay!" I shouted at him as he sat back down in his seat, breathing heavily and watching me closely. I grabbed my piece of toast and left the kitchen, heading upstairs to my room.

"And keep that ruddy owl quiet! I don't want the neighbors finding out what you are!"

I sighed and opened the door to my room. It was completely bare, except for my bed, my clothes, and Venus's cage in the corner. Uncle John had taken my trunk, filled with all my spell books, parchment, quills, wand, and broomstick, and locked it in the closet where I used to sleep the moment I walked in their house. He even locked Venus's cage so I couldn't write to any of my friends.

They didn't care that I would arrive back at school without any of my homework done. They didn't care that I would lose my place on the Gryffindor Quidditch team because I didn't practice all summer.

I broke apart the piece of toast and dropped it in Venus's cage, then I flopped on my bed and sighed. I had been here for five weeks. Five miserable weeks without any word from anyone. It was like my friends had all forgotten me.

Today was even my birthday, but no one had sent me a single birthday card. I had expected Hagrid to at least send me something, but there was nothing. I sighed and threw my pillow over my head.

"Alice! Get down here! We have a special announcement to make!"

Were they seriously acknowledging that today was my birthday? They never did anything for me. For the last three years, they had ignored it completely.

I jumped out of me bed and sat back town at the kitchen table. April stuck her tongue out at me while Aunt Samantha shot me angry looks.

"Now that Alice has _finally_ joined us, we can go over the schedule for tonight."

Oh, right. That stupid dinner party Uncle John had been talking about all week. Apparently, some guy he wanted to do business was coming over, and Uncle John was hoping to make a big deal with him. He's been talking about it all week.

"Right. At eight o'clock, we should all be in position. Samantha, you'll—"

"—be in the living room, welcoming our guests into our lovely home."

"Excellent. April?"

"I'll be at the door, waiting to take the Miller's coats and hang them up."

"What a precious little angel!" Aunt Samantha cried.

"Wonderful." Uncle John turned to face me. "And _you_?"

"I'll be upstairs in my room, not making a noise, pretending I don't exist," I said in a bored voice.

"Correct. After that, I'll lead them into the living room, introduce everyone, and pour drinks. At eight-fifteen"

"—I'll announce dinner," Aunt Samantha said. "Roast turkey and potatoes."

"April will—"

"Lead Mr. and Mrs. Miller into the dining room and show them where they are sitting," April said, smiling sweetly.

"Oh, they'll love her!" Aunt Samantha exclaimed.

"And_ you_?" Uncle John said nastily.

"I'll be upstairs in my room, not making a noise, pretending I don't exist."

"Okay, at dinner, I was thinking we could bring up a few compliments. Any ideas?"

"How about… John tells me you're an _excellent_ tennis player, Mr. Miller'…'_Do_ tell me where you got your shoes, Mrs. Miller'…"

"Fantastic. April?"

"Um…how about 'We had to write an essay about our hero in school, and I wrote about _you_ Mr. Miller."

I couldn't take it anymore. I dropped to the floor under the table so they wouldn't see me laughing as Aunt Samantha hugged April.

"And _you_, Alice?" Uncle John said through clenched teeth. Regaining my composure, I sat back down in my seat.

"I'll be upstairs in my room, not making a noise, pretending I don't exist."

"Too right you will. The Millers don't know about you _or_ your condition, and I plan to keep it that way. After dinner, we'll bring then back to the living room, have a few drinks, then bring the deal up. I'll have the contract signed, and by this time tomorrow, we'll be shopping for a vacation home in Tortola."

I sighed. I highly doubted I'd be treated better in Tortola then I would here.

"Right. I'm off to pick up my dinner jacket and April's party dress. _You_ stay out of your aunt's way while she cleans," he snarled at me. I got up and went and sat in the shade under a tree in the yard of 3 River Way. Another lonely birthday. I had hoped at least someone would remember it, but apparently not.

"Happy birthday to me, happy birthday to me…" I sang under my breath as I relaxed in the shade. This was honestly the worst birthday I had even had. Instead of just being ignored, I was going to be forced to stay in my room all night and pretend not to exist. I didn't even have my spell books to take my mind off that.

I missed everyone. I missed Rosalie, Edward, and Bella, along with all my friends from Quidditch. I thought about Jasper Hale, my teammate and also the guy I was in love with. But what would he want with me?

I was staring at the hedge in front of me when suddenly two green eyes were staring back at me. I jumped to my feet to look at it closer, but they eyes had disappeared.

"I know what day it is!" April sang, skipping towards me with a lollipop in her mouth.

"Congratulations, you've finally learned the days of the week," I said, still staring at the hedge. There had _definitely_ been something in there!

"Today's your birthday." Why did she even remember it was my birthday? "Why didn't you get any cards or presents? Don't you have any friends at that freak school you go to?"

"You better not let mummy hear you talking about my school," I said coldly.

"What are you even doing?" she asked, peering into the hedge.

"Deciding on the best spell to light the hedge on fire."

"Y-you can't! Dad said you're not s-supposed to do magic! He'll kick you out! And you h-haven't got anywhere to go!" She reminded me of my old Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Quirrell, when she stuttered like that. I decided to provoke her a little more.

"_Hocus Pocus! Abra Cadabra! Swarmy Malarmy!"_

"MUM! MUM, SHE'S DOING YOU-KNOW-WHAT AGAIN!" April screamed, running into the house.

I sighed and sank back onto the ground. I knew I'd pay for that later, but I didn't worry about it now. April had voiced the one thing I'd been thinking the whole summer: _Maybe I don't have any friends._ That's' why I antagonized her and tried to freak her out.

April and Aunt Samantha came out of the kitchen a minute later. Once she came out and saw that neither the hedge nor April were harmed, she knew I didn't do any magic, but she was still furious. She put me to work washing the car, mowing the lawn, planting flowers in the garden, and cleaning the windows with the promise I wouldn't eat until it was all finished. April watched, eating ice cream, while I was sweating in the hot sun, finishing all the chores.

Once I was down, I walked into the kitchen, but Aunt Samantha stopped me.

"Stand on the newspaper and eat this," she snapped at me, handing me a plate with two pieces of bread and a hunk of cheese. I wolfed it down as fast as I could while Aunt Samantha glared at me. She had an apron over her purple cocktail dress and was tapping her foot impatiently on the kitchen floor.

As soon as I finished, she snatched the plate out of my hands and tossed it in the sink.

"Now, get upstairs. The Millers will be here any minute!" she barked at me as I walked out of the kitchen. As I passed the living room, I saw Uncle John in a jacket and tie and April in a pink frilly dress. When I reached the landing upstairs, Uncle John stuck his head at the foot of the stairs.

"Remember—one sound!"

I tiptoed to my room as the doorbell rang. I heard my aunt and uncle greeting their guests as I slipped into my room. I turned, prepared to collapse on my bed, when I saw there was already someone there.

I managed not to scream as I took in the appearance of my nighttime visitor. It had large ears and large green eyes. I recognized them as the ones that were staring at me out of the hedge this afternoon.

"Um, hello?" I said, unsure if the creature spoke English.

"Alice Brandon!" it squeaked in a high-pitched voice. "Dobby has wanted to meet you for years, miss…such an honor!"

"Th-thanks," I stuttered, still unsure of what I was talking to. "I'm sorry, but who are you?"

"Dobby, miss. Dobby the house-elf."

"Uh, I don't mean to be rude, but now isn't the best time for me to have a house-elf in my room. Not that I'm not pleased to meet you!" I said quickly when Dobby drooped his head. "Is there a reason you're here?"

I heard Aunt Samantha laugh loudly. Someone must have told a funny joke.

"Yes, miss…it's very difficult…Dobby doesn't know where to begin…"

"Here, why don't you sit down?" I said, gesturing to my bed. The elf looked at me with shock, then burst into loud sobs.

"I'm sorry," I said quickly. "I didn't mean to offend you!"

"Offend me? Dobby has never been asked to sit down by a witch or wizard—like an _equal_!"

"You must not have met many good wizards, then," I said, pulling Dobby onto the bed and comforting.

He nodded, then leapt off the bed and started banging his head with my lamp. He kept shouting, "Bad Dobby! Bad Dobby!"

"What are you _doing_?" I hissed, pulling the lamp out of his hands and dragging him back to the bed.

"Dobby had to punish himself, miss. Dobby almost spoke ill of his masters."

"Your masters?" I asked. I didn't know there were slaves in the wizarding world.

"Oh, yes. Dobby is bound to serve one house and one family forever."

"Do they know you're here?"

He shuddered slightly. "Oh, no, miss. Dobby will have to punish himself most terribly for this. Dobby will have to iron his fingers when he gets back home. If Dobby's masters knew he was here…"

"Won't they know you were here if you iron your fingers?"

"No, miss. Dobby is always punishing himself. Sometimes Dobby's masters remind him to do extra punishments."

"Well, why don't you leave?" I asked. Dobby's life seemed medieval and unjust.

"Tis the life of a house-elf, miss. A house-elf must be set free, and Dobby's masters will never set him free. Dobby is bound to serve for the rest of his life." The elf wiped his eyes on the pillowcase he was wearing.

"This makes my family sound human. Can anyone help you? Can't I do something?"

Dobby burst into tears again. "Dobby had heard of your greatness, miss, but never your goodness!"

"Please, be quiet!" I whispered. "And whatever you've heard of my greatness is a load of rubbish. I'm not even the top of my year. Bella—"

I stopped talking. It was too painful to talk about Bella when she seemed to have forgotten I exist.

"Alice Brandon is too modest. Dobby heard word that Miss Brandon defeated He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named for a second time a month ago, and escaped _again_!"

"You mean Voldemort?"

Dobby threw his hands over his mouth. "Speak not the name! Speak not the name!" he squeaked in his high-pitched voice.

"Sorry," I said. "I know a lot of people don't like to say it. My friend, Rosalie—" But I stopped again. I didn't want to think about Rosalie when she obviously wasn't thinking about me.

"Alice Brandon is brave! She does not tremble like so many others at the sound of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named's name! But Dobby has come to warn Alice Brandon, to protect her…_Alice Brandon must not go back to Hogwarts!_"

"What?" I said, shocked. "But I have to go back! Term starts on the first. It's the only reason I endure the torture here for the summer. I don't belong here—I belong in your world."

Dobby shook his head. "You are safe here, miss. Alice Brandon is too good, too valuable to lose. If miss returns to Hogwarts, she will be in mortal danger!"

"Why?"

"There is a plot, miss. A plot to make terrible things happen at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Dobby has known it for months, miss." Dobby was trembling from head to toe, now. "Alice Brandon must not return. She is too important!"

"What terrible thing?" I asked, curious. "Who's plotting them? What are they planning to do?"

Dobby looked like he wanted to say something, but he sprinted to my desk again and seized the lamp. I pulled it from his hands before he could make any noise.

"Okay, I get it, you can't tell me. Does it have anything to do with You-Know-Who? You can just shake your head."

Dobby shook his head no.

"Then who? He hasn't got a brother or something, does he?"

Dobby shook his head again, his eyes as wide as tennis balls.

"Well, I can't imagine anyone besides him making bad things happen at Hogwarts, not with Albus Dumbledore there. You do know who he is, don't you?"

The elf nodded. "Albus Dumbledore is the greatest headmaster Hogwarts has ever had. He is a great wizard, but these are powers even Dumbledore doesn't—powers no decent wizard—"

Dobby sprinted to the window and banged his head against it repeatedly, shrieking loudly. I grabbed him and pulled him back towards the bed, but it was suddenly very quiet downstairs. Then, Uncle John spoke up. "April must have left her television on…silly girl. I'll go upstairs and turn it off."

I shoved Dobby in the closet as Uncle John stormed into my room.

"What is the blazes are you doing up here? You interrupted the punch line of my vampire joke! One more sound, and you'll wish you were never born, mark my words!" He slammed the door shut, and I heard his footsteps disappear down the hall. I opened the closet door and let Dobby out.

"You see?" I said to him. "Do you see what I have to live with? I have to go back to Hogwarts. It's the only place I've got—well, sort of got—friends!"

"Friends who don't even write to Alice Brandon?"

"I'm sure they've—wait, how do you know they haven't been writing to me?" I asked, looking at him suspiciously.

"Alice Brandon mustn't be angry with Dobby—Dobby thought if Alice Brandon though her friends had forgotten her, she might now want to go back."

"_Have you been stopping my letter?_"

"Dobby has them here, miss," he said, pulling a wad of envelopes out of his pillowcase.

"Give those to me!"I hissed, lunging at him. He jumped out of my reach, holing the stack of letters over his head.

"Alice Brandon must promise Dobby she won't return to Hogwarts!"

"No! Give me my letters!"

The elf sighed. "Then Dobby has no choice," he said, tucking the letters back into his pillowcase. He opened the door and sprinted out of the room, running down the stairs and into the kitchen. I followed him, trying to make as little noise as possible. I could hear Uncle John and the others in the living room, having coffee and tea. Aunt Samantha's pudding was sitting on the table behind them. I saw Dobby crouched next to the table.

"Dobby…please don't…they'll kill me!"

"Alice Brandon must not go back to Hogwarts."

"Please…"

"Say it, miss."

"I can't."

The elf dropped his head. "Then Dobby has no choice." He snapped his fingers and the pudding rose into the air. He snapped them again, and it fell to the ground with an earth-shattering crash. Then, he disappeared with a loud crack.

Uncle John and everyone else came sprinting into the room and stared at me, covered in Aunt Samantha's pudding, looking terrified. Uncle John tried to gloss it over, saying how I was disturbed and meeting new people normally upset me. He would have still made his deal if the owl hadn't arrived.

A barn owl flew through the window, dropped a letter on Mrs. Miller's head, and left. She screamed at the top of her lungs and sprinted out the door. Mr. Miller stayed long enough to tell Uncle John that his wife was deathly afraid of birds, then telling him the deal was off.

Uncle John looked like he was about to flay me alive. "Go on—read it!" he snarled at me.

I opened the envelope. It wasn't a birthday cars. It was from the ministry of Magic.

_Dear Ms. Brandon  
We have received intelligence that a Hover Charm was used at your place of residence at twelve minutes past nine.  
As you know, underage wizards are not permitted to perform spells outside school, and further spell work on your part may lead to expulsion from said school (Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery, 1875, Paragraph C.)  
We would also ask you to remember that any magical activity that risks notice by members of the non-magical community (Muggles) is a serious offense under section 13 of the International Confederation of Warlock's Statute of Secrecy.  
Enjoy your holidays!  
Yours sincerely,  
Mafalda Hopkirk  
__**Improper Use of Magical Office**__  
Ministry of Magic_

I looked up from the letter into the three grinning faces of the Prunleys.

"So," Uncle John sneered. "You didn't tell us you weren't allowed to use magic. Slipped your mind, I imagine? Well, guess what? You're never going back to that freak school! And if you try to magic yourself out, they'll expel you for using more magic!"

Laughing manically, he grabbed me by my arm and dragged me back to my room.

_I walked into the house, supporting April on my shoulders. Once I made it to the stairs, I dumped her on the ground._

"_April?" Aunt Samantha called out. "Is that you, angel?"_

_She and Uncle John walked into the foyer and gasped when they saw April, sprawled on the ground, and me, holding my wand._

"_WHAT DID YOU DO TO HER?" Uncle John roared._

"_I didn't do anything to her!" I yelled back at him. "I saved her from the dementors!"_

"_What in the ruddy hell are you talking about?"_

"_She did something to me," April choked out._

"_What is it, sweetie?" Aunt Samantha asked, kneeling by her only daughter. "What did she do to you?"_

"_All cold…everything went dark…and I felt like—like—"_

"—_like you'd never be happy again," I said, finishing her sentence. She nodded._

"_So, you put some crackpot spell on my daughter, did you?" Uncle John shouted in my face._

"_I told you, I didn't do anything to her! I saved her! The dementor was going to suck her soul!"_

"What is wrong with you, girl? Pay attention when I'm speaking to you!"

I shook my head from side to side and looked at Uncle John. He was staring at me like I was crazy.

"Sorry," I mumbled. Uncle John slammed the door and I collapsed on my bed in tears. How was I ever going to get back to Hogwarts?

***

Uncle John was true to his word. The next morning, he put bars on my window so I couldn't make an escape from there. Then, he installed a cat-flap on my door so they could give me food without opening the door. In other words, I was trapped.

I couldn't try to let myself out my magic or I would be expelled. I couldn't use Venus to tell someone I was stuck because she was locked in her cage. What would happen September first when I was still here? Could Professor Dumbledore make them let me come back?

Three days later, I was lying on my bed in a white tank top and jeans when the cat flap rattled. I looked over and saw a bowl of soup. I ran over to it and finished it down in three gulps. It was cold, but I didn't care. It was food. I then tipped the vegetables into Venus's cage. She turned her back to them.

"You have to eat them," I told her. "It's all we have."

I went over and curled into a ball on my bed. I fell asleep, dreaming.

In my dream, I was in a cage at the zoo labeled "Underage Witch." People in the crowd were gawking at me and banged on the bars as I lay on the ground, weak and starving. Dobby was in the crowd, looking at me with sad eyes and saying, "Alice Brandon is safe!"

The bars were rattling, and it was irritating me. "Stop," I moaned. "Leave me alone."

I opened my eyes. The moon was shining, but someone was rattling the bars on my window. I looked over and saw Jasper Hale at my window.

"Jasper?" I gasped, looking at him with wide eyes. "How did you—what are you—"

My eyes doubled in size when I saw he was sitting in the back of a car that was floating in midair. In the front seat, grinning at me, were Fred and George Weasley.

"Nice outfit," Fred said, looking me up and down. George whistled at me. I looked down and saw my shirt had shifted while I slept. It had ridden up so my stomach was exposed, but also shifted down, so my lacy pink bra was visible.

"Yeah, you should wear that to the next Quidditch match," Jasper said, grinning at me. "We'd win for sure."

"Shut up, you pervs," I said, fixing my shirt and grabbing a blue sweater off my bed. "What are you guys doing here anyways?"

"Well, Rosalie was worried because you weren't answering any of her letters. Then, Dad came home last night, saying you'd gotten a warning for doing magic in front of the Muggles. You _know_ we're not allowed to do magic outside of—"

"It wasn't me! Anyways, how did he know?" I asked George.

"He works for the Ministry. Anyways, why did you enchant something in front of them?"

"It wasn't me, but it'll take too long to explain. Can you tell them at Hogwarts I can't come because the Muggles won't let me leave?"

"What do you think we're here for? We're busting you out!"

"But you can't do magic either!" I said.

"We don't need to," Fred said. "Did you forget who you're talking to?"

Jasper tied some rope to the bars, then motioned for me to stand back. I shrank against the wall next to Venus as the three boys revved the engine of the car. With a loud crash, the bars came off the window and were dangling from the car, three feet above the ground. I ran to the door and pressed my ear against it, but I didn't hear anything.

"Okay, Alice. Grab your stuff and let's get out of here," Jasper said to me once he pulled the bars into the car.

"I can't. It's locked in the cabinet under the stairs. I can't get out of the room to go get it, either."

"Not a problem," Fred said, climbing out of the car with George. He had a bobby pin in his hands. He shoved it into the door and started moving it around. "Most wizards think this is a waste of time, but I find it useful." With a click, the door opened. "We'll be right back."

I ran around the room, tossing anything of mine to Jasper. He laughed as I rushed around like a mad woman.

"Shut up," I hissed at him. He just laughed some more.

A moment later, Fred and George reappeared in my room with my trunk. They heaved it into the backseat of the car, then climbed in.

"C'mon, Alice, let's go," George said as I climbed onto the windowsill. I was about to climb into the car when Venus shrieked. Crap! I had left her in the room!

"THAT RUDDY OWL!" Uncle John thundered. I heard him hop out of bed and walk down the hall. I quickly grabbed Venus and passed her to Jasper as Uncle John burst into the room. He stared at me for a minute before shouting, "SAMANTHA! SHE'S GETTING AWAY!"

I jumped from the windowsill to the car, but Uncle John grabbed my leg. Luckily, they were covered by my jeans so there was no skin contact. Jasper and Fred grabbed my arms and pulled me into the car while Uncle John tried to pull me back into the house. With a final pull, I was in the car as Uncle John toppled into the garden.

As we sped away into the night, I leaned out the back and shouted, "See you next summer!" to a cursing Uncle John.


	12. The New DADA Professor

Chapter 11: The New DADA Professor

"So, he wouldn't tell you who was supposedly plotting all of this?" Fred asked after I told him, George, and Jasper about Dobby and the disastrous dinner party.

"No. Every time he almost let something slip, he tried to hurt himself. I don't think he was allowed to say anything."

"Fishy," Fred said. He glanced at Jasper and gave him a skeptical look.

"Wait, you think he was lying?" I asked.

"Maybe. I mean, house-elves have powerful magic, but they can't use it without their master's permission. I think Dobby might have been sent to stop you from coming back to school, like a joke. Is there anyone who would want to stop you from coming back?"

"Draco Malfoy. He's hated me ever since I refused to be his friend."

"You mean Lucius Malfoy's son? Yeah, I heard about him and his family from Dad," George said. "Apparently, his dad was a big You-Know-Who supporter, but after he disappeared, he came back to our side, saying he'd been under some kind of spell. Load of B.S. if you ask Dad—he thinks he was You-Know-Who's right-hand man."

"Well, I don't even know if they own a house-elf…"

"Well, whoever it was is from an old wizarding family, and they're rich."

I didn't say anything. Malfoy always had the newest, most expensive things money could buy. I could see him sitting in his mansion, sending the family servant to come and stop me from going back to Hogwarts. Why did take Dobby seriously. Fred was right—it was probably a prank.

"So, why did you come with Fred and George?" I asked Jasper. "I mean, it's not like you live with them, do you?"

He laughed. Jasper's laugh was the greatest sound in the world. "No, I don't live with these idiots I call my friends. I'm spending the week with them, though, so when Rosalie came in and asked them to go and see that you were still alive, I decided to come too. I mean, how often am I going to get to travel across Britain in a flying car?"

"Speaking of which," I added, looking at Fred and George, "I thought you weren't allowed to do magic."

"This doesn't count," Fred said. "We're just borrowing this. _We_ didn't enchant it, Dad did."

"Does he know you have his car?"

"Er—no. We'll have it back before he ever knows it's gone. He's working tonight. I'm just worried if Mum finds out we took the car." He glanced nervously at George.

"What does your dad do for the Ministry?" I asked.

"Works in the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office. He has to go track down Muggle objects that are bewitched so they aren't sold to Muggles. I mean, it would kind of odd if some Muggle woman was serving tea and the tea started squirting it back at her."

"What about this car? I mean, isn't this the kind of thing he's trying to prevent from happening?" I asked.

George shook his head. "Yeah. Dad's crazy. He loves taking Muggle things apart, bewitching them, and putting them back together. It drives Mum insane."

"Well, we're almost there," Fred said, lowering the car onto a road. "We're just outside the one village. We should be there in about 10 minutes."

The four of us drove down the main road as the sky began to turn pink. They drove up to a tall, lopsided stone house. There was a large collection of boots by the front door, a chicken pen, and an old cauldron. In the lawn, a sign said, "The Burrow."

"It's wonderful!" I gasped. I had never seen a more welcome-looking home. It looked like the kind of place where a loving family lived. It was the complete opposite of River Way.

"So, you'll go upstairs to Rosalie's room and hang there until Mum calls us all down for breakfast. Then, we'll all act surprised to see you, and Mum'll never know. Here," George said, placing his hand on my back and leading me towards the stairs, "Rosalie's room is on the third…" He trailed off, looking terrified.

"Oh boy," Fred said.

"Crap," Jasper muttered. I turned to see what they were all looking at, and saw Mrs. Weasley storming into the room, her face red with anger.

"_Where have you been_?" she shouted, keeping her eyes on the twins. "_Beds empty—no note—you could have died! You could have been seen! I've never had this kind of trouble from Charlie or Bill or Percy!"_

"Perfect Percy," Fred muttered under his breath.

"_You could do well with following Percy's example. And you!"_ she said, turning to Jasper. "_You wait until I tell your mother what you did while you were here! I would never have expected this of you. Emmett, yes, but you, no!" _She turned to me. "Alice, it's lovely to see you. Come, I'll get you some breakfast." She glared at Fred, George, and Jasper as she led me into the kitchen.

I sat down at the table with the three guys as Mrs. Weasley bustled around the kitchen. I looked around at the house. On the wall, there was a clock. There were nine hands, each with a name on them. Surrounding them, there were different things like "home", "work", "missing", "school", and "mortal peril." All of the hands, with the exception of Mr. Weasley, Bill, and Charlie, were pointed at "home." The other three were all pointed at "work." There were also a bunch of spell books, titled _Charm Your Own Cheese, Enchant Your Garden, _and _Five Minute Feasts._

Mrs. Weasley was preparing a plate of food for me. The whole time, she kept shooting dirty looks at Fred, George, and Jasper while muttering under her breath.

"I don't blame you, Alice," she said, putting a full plate of food in front of me. "Arthur and I were worried when you didn't return any of Rosalie's letters. We said we'd come get you Friday if you hadn't written back, but flying an illegal car across the country—"

"It was the middle of the night!" Fred exclaimed with his mouth full of pancakes.

"Don't talk when you're eating!" she shouted at him.

"But there were bars on her window!" George said.

"You too!"

"They were starving her, Mrs. Weasley!"

She turned and glared at the three boys. They were all quiet after that. The four of us ate until all the plates were cleaned.

"Boy, I'm tired," George said, yawning. "I think I'll go to bed and—"

"You will _not_!" Mrs. Weasley snapped. "It's your own fault you were up all night flying a car. You, Fred, and Jasper can go de-gnome the garden."

"But Mum—"

"Enough! The garden's getting out of hand, so go do it now! Alice, you can go up to Rosalie's room and sleep for a bit."

I nodded and headed up the stairs. I could still hear Fred, George, and Jasper arguing with Mrs. Weasley over their punishment. Finally, they accepted defeat and headed outside. Once I reached the third floor, I saw several doors, each of them decorated by their inhabitants. Fred and George's had signs like, "Keep Out!" and "Do Not Enter!" Ron's had a poster of the Chudley Cannons, whatever they were. Percy's had the Hogwarts crest and a sign that said "Quiet Please!" I finally reached Rosalie's room. Her door had her name in pink, along with a picture of her, Bella, Edward, and me. I smiled, and then opened the door.

When I first entered her room, I thought I was in Ron's room. On her walls, there were posters of something called the "Montrose Magpies" and there were pictures of two men, named Ewan Findlay and Malcolm Hughes. There were black and white banners draped on her walls that said "Montrose Magpies."

She also had a Gryffindor banner tacked onto the wall, along with pictures of her and her family. I saw Rosalie as a little girl, sitting on the shoulders of a guy I didn't recognize (I suspected it was Charlie or Bill,) and a picture of her and Edward standing with Fred, George, and Emmett when they were all younger.

"I'm getting up, Mum," Rosalie groaned, rolling over in her bed. She sat up and stared at me. "Alice?" she asked, rubbing her eyes. I just smiled at her. "Alice! Oh my god, I can't believe it's you! Did Fred and George come get you last night in Dad's car? I _told_ them to! Are you okay? Were you guys seen? Were—"

"Rosalie, Rosalie, calm down! Fred, George, and Jasper came and got me last night. We accidentally knocked my uncle into the garden." I giggled as I remembered Uncle John falling out of my window. "We got here this morning."

"Did they go back to bed? Is that the plan? We come down and say you showed up overnight?"

"Uh, no. Your mum caught us sneaking in. Jasper and your brothers are out de-gnoming the garden or something like that. What are the Montrose Magpies?" I asked, pointing to her banner.

"Quidditch team. They're my favorite."

"I thought you didn't like Quidditch," I said.

"I do. Fred, George, and the others don't know that. I've been stealing their brooms for ages to practice. I'm actually getting pretty good."

"That's awesome! Maybe when Oliver leaves you can try out."

"Maybe. I'm not much of a Keeper though. I see myself as more of a Chaser."

"And who's Ewan Findlay?"

"Chaser for the Magpies. He's _gorgeous_," she said, staring at Ewan Findlay's poster. He had light brown hair and golden eyes.

"LIKE CARS, FOR INSTANCE?" I heard Mrs. Weasley's voice echo up the stairs.

"Dad must be home," Rosalie said hopping out of bed. The two of us came down stairs and saw Mr. and Mrs. Weasley standing in the kitchen while Fred, George, and Jasper stood in the doorway. Mrs. Weasley was giving Mr. Weasley a death stare while he had a nervous look in his eyes.

"Alice?" Mr. Weasley asked. "Alice who?" Mrs. Weasley pointed to me, standing on the stairs.

"Good lord. Alice Brandon! Rosalie's told us so much—"

"_Your sons and Jasper Hale flew that car to Alice's house and back last night!_" Mrs. Weasley shouted.

"Did you really?" he asked, looking at the three boys in the doorway. "How's it go?"

"_Arthur!_"

"I mean—that was very wrong, boys."

"And as for _you_, young lady," Mrs. Weasley said, glaring at Rosalie. "Your brothers told me that you asked them to get Alice last night."

"Fred! George!" Rosalie moaned.

"Rosalie Weasley! I can't believe you had your brothers fly across the country in the middle of the night! Your father could have lost his job!"

"Sorry, Mum."

"It's alright, dear," Mrs. Weasley said, sitting down at the table. "Now, who wants breakfast?"

***

"So, how goes the get-Emmett-Cullen-to-realize-he's-madly-in-love-with-me plan?" I asked Rosalie one morning.

She sighed. "Not well. Apparently, he's dating someone from Ravenclaw. Her name's Summer Wheatley and she's on their Quidditch team. She's going to be a fourth year—just like him." She sat on her bed and her head dropped into her lap. "It's not fair—he'll never see me as anything more than his best friends' little sister."

"Hey, you have it better than me. I like Jasper, but he'll never see me as anything except his teammate. I mean, I hang out with him and the others in the locker room—how will he ever see me as girlfriend material?"

"I heard he's dating Katie Bell—she's a third year in Gryffindor."

"Great. I'll get to see them snogging in the common room," I sighed, sinking next to her on her bed.

"Hey, everything will okay. We'll just have to show those boys that we're the hottest things at Hogwarts. They'll be _begging_ for us to go out with them!"

"I hope you're right, Rose."

"Alice! Rosalie! Breakfast!" Mrs. Weasley called up to us. We both rose off of Rosalie's bed and climbed down the stairs until we reached the kitchen. We both took a seat at the table as Mrs. Weasley put a plate of food in front of each of us.

The Burrow was extremely different from River Way. Nothing was neat and orderly—it was loud and unexpected. At all times of the day, I heard bangs from Fred and George's room, and the ghoul in the attic would drop pipes when things were too quiet. Also, no one treated me like I was a waste of space—everyone liked me.

At every meal, Mr. Weasley asked me about life with Muggles and the function of objects like batteries and plugs.

"Here," Mrs. Weasley said, handing Rosalie and I each an identical sheet of parchment. "Your letters from Hogwarts. You've got them, too," she added when Fred and George walked into the kitchen in their pajamas.

I read through the letter with the same instructions as last year to catch the Hogwarts Express from platform 9 ¾. There was also the list of schoolbooks—most of them were by someone called Gilderoy Lockhart.

"You've been told to get the Lockhart books too?" Jasper asked, looking at my list.

"Mum fancies him," George added. Mrs. Weasley looked like she was about to say something, but was interrupted by something hitting the window. I looked over and saw an ancient owl plastered against the glass.

"Errol, finally!" Rosalie said, leaping up and pulling the owl inside. She grabbed the letter from his foot and put the owl in his cage. "It's Bella's letter—I told her Fred and George were going to rescue you."

_Dear Rosalie (and Alice if you're there),  
I hope everything went well and Alice is there, but I hope Fred and George didn't do anything illegal because that would get Alice in trouble too. I've been ever so worried about her since she hasn't responded to any of my letters, so please let me know if she arrives, but use a different owl because this one looked like it was about to die.  
I'm busy with my schoolwork—I've almost finished Professor Snape's essay. We're going to London on Wednesday and I was wondering if you wanted to meet there. Edward's going to be there too. Let me know as soon as you can.  
With love,  
Bella_

"That's a wonderful idea," Mrs. Weasley said as Rosalie wrote Bella a response. "We can get everyone's books that day."

***

On Wednesday, Mrs. Weasley woke us up in the morning. Rosalie pulled on a pair of jeans and a blue tee shirt that said, "The Switchblade Kittens" and a pair of black converse sneakers. She pulled a grey sweater over that. I pulled a red knit dress that fell to my knees and a red sweater. I pulled on a pair of yellow flats, and Rosalie and I joined everyone downstairs.

"The Switchblade Kittens?" Jasper asked, looking at Rosalie's shirt.

She nodded. "Of course. I mean, The Weird Sisters are good and all, but nothing beats The Switchblade Kittens." Jasper nodded, obviously approving. After eating a large breakfast, the nine of us walked over to the fireplace and Mrs. Weasley picked up a flowerpot, holding it out to me.

"Guests first." I looked at it, confused.

"Floo powder," Rosalie whispered in my ear. "Just pick it up, throw it down in the fireplace, and say where you want to go. I'll go first so you see how it's done." She grabbed a handful from the pot and stood in the fireplace. "Diagon Alley!" she cried as the flames turned green and she disappeared.

It looked simple enough. I picked up a handful of powder and stepped in the fireplace. I shouted "Diagon Alley!" and disappeared. I sped through the different grates and landed on the ground next to Rosalie in Diagon Alley. One by one, the rest of the Weasley family and Jasper joined us.

"Alice! Rosalie!" I heard a voice shout. I looked over and saw Bella running towards us. She threw her arms around my neck and I felt her hand touch my skin. Damnit!

"_Where are we?" I asked Bella as I looked around the strange street. Bella, Rosalie, Edward, and I were all dressed nicely. We must have come from some kind of fancy event._

"_Edgware Road," she replied, picking up her purse. "It was the first place I thought of."_

"_But, all of our stuff, our clothes," Edward said, looking dejectedly at her._

"_All in here," she said, shaking her purse in front of us. "I thought we might run into trouble at the wedding, so I packed everything last night. I've got changes of clothes for all of us, the books, the maps, and everything else."_

"_How is it all fitting in there?" Edward asked, staring at the small bag. I was wondering the same thing._

"_I used an Undetectable Extension Charm on it. You can enlarge the inside of it, but you can't tell by the appearance. It's kind of heavy, though," she said, handing it to Edward. _

"_Well, what are we going to do now?" I asked. "Where should we go?"_

"_Hey Blondie!" a man called out. We looked over and saw a group of guys sitting on the steps of a bar. They were all ogling at Rosalie. It didn't surprise me—she was the most beautiful person I had ever met._

_Rosalie just glared at them._

"_Why don't you and your two friends ditch your pimp and hang with us?" Bella, Rosalie and I looked at them disgustedly._

"_Let's go in here and decide what to do next," I said, opening the door to a diner. The four of us sat down in a booth and started talking in low voices._

"_What do you think's happening back at the Burrow?" Rosalie asked, looking worried. "What about my parents? What about Bill and Leah? What about Emmett?"_

"_I don't know. I mean, we could always stop in at the Leaky Cauldron to check the news—"_

"_And let Voldemort catch you? I don't think so!" Bella whispered. "We need to find somewhere safe to go. Can you think of anywhere we could go so no one would find us?"_

_I could think of one place. My house. The house Sirius had left me. 12 Grimmauld Place._

"Sorry," Bella mumbled when I opened my eyes. "I always forget about that."

"Alice dear, are you alright? It looked like you zoned out there for a moment."

"I'm fine Mrs. Weasley," I said, slightly embarrassed. Not everyone knew about my visions, and I didn't want them all thinking I was crazy. Jasper and the twins were looking at me, slightly worried.

"Well, here comes Emmett, Edward, Carlisle, and Esme," Mrs. Weasley said, pointing to Edward and Emmett with their grandparents. Edward greeted us as Emmett gave Jasper a high-five. I saw Rosalie blush slightly when he came over and gave her a hug.

"It's good to see you, Rosie."

"—but you're a Muggle!" Mr. Weasley was saying, talking to Bella's father. "We must have a drink! Everyone, we'll meet at Flourish and Blotts in an hour!" he said, towing Mr. Swan away with him while Mrs. Weasley and Edward's grandparents followed him into the Leaky Cauldron.

"C'mon," Edward said, and the four of us walked down Diagon Alley as Emmett, Jasper, and the twins headed in the other direction.

"Edward, is it true your brother is dating Summer Wheatley?" Rosalie asked, keeping her tone causal.

"Uh, yeah. He's always sending her owls. It's actually kind of annoying—I barely have access to Reggie, our owl. Oh wow, look at those Tornadoes robes!" he said, pressing his face up against the window of Quality Quidditch Supplies.

"Ugh, c'mon. Let's go get some ice cream and then replenish out quills and ink," Bella said, grabbing the collar of his shirt and dragging him away. I bought everyone chocolate and marshmallow ice cream cones, and then the three of us went next door to buy new quills. In the joke shop, we saw Emmett, Jasper, the Weasleys, and Lee Jordan buying Dr. Filibuster's Wet-Start fireworks.

"Don't let Carlisle catch you buying those," Edward warned his brother. "He still hasn't forgotten the toilet incident." Emmett just chuckled, then grabbed the hand of a pretty blonde girl standing next to him. I saw Rosalie shoot daggers at her when she wasn't looking. Jasper was standing with a small girl with silky brown hair. She was giggling over something he whispered in her ear. Rosalie and I sulked miserable out of the shop.

"We'll show them," she whispered to me. "Next year, when we're third years, we'll be the hottest things the school has ever seen. Then, we'll date a couple boys and show them how desirable we are."

The four of us made our way to Flourish and Blotts, where there was a large crowd. We snuck in and grabbed our copies of the schoolbooks we needed. Rosalie picked up a used copy of _The Standard Book of Spells-Grade 2_. We then spotted Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Mr. Swan, and Edward's grandparents standing in line. They were waiting to get their books signed by Gilderoy Lockhart.

"Oh, there you are," Mrs. Weasley said when she saw us. "We'll get to meet him in a minute. How's my hair?"

"Out of the way," a wizard with a camera said, shoving Edward. "This is for the Daily Prophet!"

"Who cares?" he muttered. Gilderoy Lockhart looked up and spotted us. His eyes widened.

"It _can't_ be Alice Brandon!" He dived into the crowd and grabbed my hand. I really needed to start wearing gloves.

"_Professor Lockhart! Professor Lockhart!" Edward and I shouted as we ran into Gilderoy Lockhart's classroom to tell him what we had discovered from Moaning Myrtle. I was stunned to see everything In disarray._

_Lockhart had packed up everything. There were many boxes sitting on the floor, full of books. Gilderoy Lockhart peered around the corner and was startled to see us._

"_Oh, hello Alice and Edward. Now's not really the best time, so if you'll excuse me…"_

"_We have information about the Chamber of Secrets! We know how to get in!"_

"_Yes, well, urgent call. I would, it's just—I really can't stay."_

"_You're leaving?" I asked, bewildered. "What about Rosalie?"_

"_I would if I could, but I really need to be going."_

"_You're running away!" Edward accused. "After all that stuff you did in your books, you're running away?"_

"_Books can be deceiving."_

"Alice, smile!" Gilderoy Lockhart said, snapping me out of my trance. Everyone in the shop was looking at me strangely, so I smiled wide and let the photographer take the picture. After he was done, Gilderoy Lockhart announced to the bookshop that he would become our new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. I quickly escaped before he could try and take more pictures. IK motioned towards Bella, Rosalie, and Edward, and the three of us walked to the front of the store.

"Bet you _loved_ that, Brandon," a cold voice sneered. Great, just what I needed.

"What do you want, Malfoy?"

"_Famous_ Alice Brandon. Can hardly walk into a bookshop without making a scene, can you?"

"Leave me alone, Malfoy," I said, pushing past him. He grabbed my arm, forcing me backwards.

"Oh look, Blondie's here too. I'm surprised to see you and your family in a shop. I suppose all five of you have to share a set of books."

Rosalie went bright red.

"Shut up, Malfoy," Edward snarled. Malfoy looked like he was going to reply when Mr. Weasley and the twins appeared. Jasper and Emmett must have been off with their girlfriends. I sighed miserably at that thought.

"What are you kids doing? Let's go outside," he said, but stopped dead when he saw a man with white blonde hair standing behind Draco.

"Well, well, well—Arthur Weasley. Busy time at the Ministry. I hope they're paying you extra for all that overtime, but by the looks of this," he said, yanking the used book out of Rosalie's hand, "It appears they aren't. Pity. What's the point of being a disgrace to the wizarding name if they don't pay you well for it?"

"We have different ideas of what disgraces a wizard, Lucius," Mr. Weasley said coldly.

"Clearly. Associating with Muggles. Tsk, tsk. And I thought your family could sink no lower."

There was a shout, a thud, and a bookshelf was knocked over as Mr. Weasley threw himself at Lucius Malfoy. He was punching him in the gut when a pair of large hands pulled them apart.

"Break it up," a gruff voice said. I looked and saw Hagrid holding Mr. Weasley and Mr. Malfoy by the scruffs of their necks.

"Here," Mr. Malfoy said, shoving the book in Rosalie's hand. "Take your book—it's the best your father can give you. Let's go, Draco." He picked up his walking stick, and he and Draco Malfoy left the shop.

"Yeh should've ignored him," Hagrid said as we left the shop. "Bad blood—the entire family. Never listen to 'em. Let's go."

"A _fine_ example to set for your children, Arthur. I don't know _what _you were thinking," Mrs. Weasley said as we made our way back to the Leaky Cauldron. We said goodbye to Bella and her father as they left for the Muggle streets. Emmett, Jasper, and their girlfriends were saying a very nonverbal goodbye. I felt like vomiting. Or crying.

I took some floo powder and returned to the Burrow. Rosalie and I headed to her room as we discussed the day. It had been very eventful.

**Just a note—I don't care if you like my story or not. I don't care if hate it. If you don't like it, don't read it. But please, don't leave mean, hateful comments. If you like this, please review. I enjoy your thoughts and ideas ******


	13. Trees and Teachers

Chapter 12: Trees and Teachers

**AN: Wow, thanks for all the reviews everyone! They really made my day. I know I don't update super frequently, but if I get a lot of reviews, I promise to write the next chapter of this instead of my other story.**

As the summer ended, I started feeling sad. This was the best summer I had ever had, and now it was ending. I was happy about going back to Hogwarts, but I also liked spending time with the Weasleys at the Burrow. I couldn't help feeling envious of Rosalie and Ron. They had a big, loving family, and I had the Prunleys.

The night before the train left, Rosalie and I were in her room, packing our trunks, when an owl flew through her window, carrying a letter. It landed in front of me, dropped the envelope in my hand, then flew away.

"What's that?" she asked. I shrugged my shoulders before tearing the envelope open.

_Roses are red,  
Violets are blue,  
Sugar is sweet,  
Just like you._

"I think it's a poem," I said, looking at the note with confusion.

"Who sent it?"

"I don't know—there's no name."

"Ooh, maybe it's a secret admirer!" Rosalie exclaimed.

"Who's got a secret admirer?" Fred and George asked, coming into Rosalie's room with Jasper right behind them. "I don't think I want my baby sister with secret admirers."

"It's not me, it's Alice," Rosalie said, shoving the note into Fred's hand. He and George read it, then passed it to Ron. The twins started laughing, but Jasper looked embarrassed.

Who would write something like this?" Fred laughed.

"How am I supposed to know?" I asked angrily. "There was no name!"

"And what are you three doing in here anyways?" Rosalie asked her brothers, annoyed. "This is _my_ room!"

"We were just coming to see if you guys had seen our Quidditch robes?"

"Why would they be in here?" Rosalie asked.

"I don't know. Maybe you stole them as a prank or something."

"You pull pranks, not me," Rosalie reminded them. "Now get out. We're going to go to bed."

The three boys left, and Rosalie and I got changed for bed. I pulled on my checkered pajama bottoms and white thermal tee while Rosalie changed into a white tank top and pink boxers. I laid down in the temporary bed on her floor while she climbed onto her bed. I pulled out the letter I had just received and read it again while Rosalie wrote in her diary.

When Jasper read the letter, he looked embarrassed. Maybe he wrote it. I fell asleep, still thinking about Jasper.

***

"Alice! Rosalie! Wake up!" Mrs. Weasley shouted, yanking the covers off me. I looked up sleepily as she threw me a pair of jeans, a tee shirt, and a sweater. She was throwing some clothes to Rosalie when she looked at me.

"Get dressed! We need to leave in five minutes!" She rushed out of the room, yelling at Ron for still being in his pajamas.

I pulled on the clothes she handed me while Rosalie slipped on a white tee shirt and a black cotton dress. We both brought our trunks down and helped Mr. Weasley put them in the trunk of the car. I didn't see how all of our luggage and us was going to fit in the car, but Mr. Weasley bent down and whispered that he's put a charm on the car so it was expanded on the inside, but not the outside.

Once we were all in the car, we started driving to the station. We were almost at the highway when Rosalie screamed that she had forgotten her diary. We drove back, and she rushed inside. She ran out, clutching a leather book in her arms. After that, we made our way to the station. When we arrived, we met Edward and his family there.

All of us were rushing to the platform. Percy entered first, followed by the twins, Jasper, and Emmett. The Weasleys and Ron went next, followed by Mr. and Mrs. Cullen. Edward, Rosalie, and I were the only ones left.

"Okay, let's hurry. We only have two minutes left." The three of us ran towards the barrier, and crashed into it. The platform had been sealed.

Venus was shrieking while Scabbers was freaking out in his cage.

"What do you three think you're doing?" a guard from the station said, walking up to us.

"Sorry," Edward muttered. "We lost control of the trolley." The guard gave us a look, then walked off, muttering about teenagers.

"Why can't we get through?" I whispered to them. They shrugged their shoulders. I looked down at my watch as the second hand hit the 12. The train was gone. We had missed it.

"What if my parents can't get back?" Rosalie asked. "What are we supposed to do?"

"Let's wait by the car," I murmured. "Venus is attracting too much attention."

"That's it! The car! We can fly it to Hogwarts!" Rosalie exclaimed.

"Are you sure?" I asked.

"Alice, how many times are we going to get to fly a car?" Edward asked. "I think it's a great idea."

"But what about your parents?" I asked Rosalie. "How are they going to get home?"

"They can apparate. You know, disappear and appear when they want. We only use floo powder and the car because we're all underage."

"Well, I guess we don't have another choice," I said reluctantly. The three of us grabbed our trunks and brought them out to the car. Edward helped Rosalie and I load our things into the back, then we all hopped into the car. Rosalie climbed into the driver's seat while Edward and I shared the enlarged passenger's seat.

"Hit that button," Rosalie said, pointing to a large blue button on the dash. I jammed my finger against it. The outside of the car flickered, then disappeared. "Invisibility booster," Rosalie said, seeing my and Edward's shocked faces.

She put the car in gear, then pressed another button. The car rose into the air above all the Muggles surrounding us. None of them even noticed us. The car rose up until it was touching the clouds.

"Can you see the train?" Rosalie asked, looking around.

"There!" Edward shouted, pointing to the scarlet engine. "Due north." Rosalie steered the car and shot off in the sky towards the Hogwarts Express. The three of us were having fun, joking about what Fred, George, Emmett, and Jasper would say when we arrived at school when the car suddenly started shaking.

"What's going on?" I asked Rosalie as the car began flickering.

"The Invisibility button—it must be faulty," she said as the car began to reappear.

"Quick—go up above the clouds. We can pop down every thirty minutes or so to check on the train," Edward said. Rosalie nodded, then she shot into the clouds. We were soaring in the sky, having the time of our lives. It was warmer than the Hogwarts Express was, so I ripped my sweater off so I was just in my tee shirt. Rosalie turned to me to tell me something when I screamed and pointed in front of her.

We were heading straight towards an airplane. We were going to hit it!

"AHHHHHH!" the three of us shouted at the top of our lungs. Rosalie swerved to the side, and the passenger door opened. I fell out as Edward grabbed my hand. Damn these inconvenient visions!

"_Did you have to pick him?" Edward was shouting in the common room. Bella was standing across from him, her arms folded across her chest._

"_I will go out with whomever I like, thank you very much," Bella responded coldly._

"_He beat Gryffindor at Quidditch! He's competing against Alice in the tournament!"_

"_Edward, I don't care who she dates," I said quietly. Edward ignored me._

"_He's a Hufflepuff!" he shouted._

"_So what? Would you rather I go out with a Slytherin? I heard Malfoy's available—though I don't think he would want to date a Muggle-born like me," she snapped at him._

"_That's not what I meant," Edward mumbled._

"_Anyways, why do you care who I go out with? You're dating Tanya Denali from Ravenclaw and I don't care."_

"_SHE'S NOT COMPETING AGAINST ALICE FOR ETERNAL GLORY!" Edward roared. "You're—you're—you're fraternizing with the enemy, that's what you're doing!"_

"_Edward, I don't care what you think. He likes me, and that's all that matters. He treats me like a girl, not like someone who checks his homework!"_

"_I never said you weren't a girl," Edward said quietly._

"_But you don't treat me like you treat Tanya. You never comment on how I look or anything. You just use me to fix your essays and take notes in History of Magic! Well, you know what, I'm sick of it! Until you pull your head out of your arse, don't talk to me!" Bella stormed upstairs to the dormitory we shared and slammed the door._

_Edward turned to Rosalie and I, who were staring at him with wide eyes._

"_Wonder what that was all about," he said._

"Alice! _Alice_!" Edward shouted, shaking me. I looked up and saw Edward's concerned face looking down at me. I realized I was lying down in the backseat of the car. Edward must have pulled me in while I was zoned out.

"I'm fine, Edward," I grumbled as I sat up. "Just another vision. Nothing to panic about."

"What did you see?" Rosalie asked, leaning over the seat to look at me.

"Keep your eyes on the sky!" I snapped at her. "We don't want a repeat of me almost falling hundreds of feet to a bloody and painful death!" Her cheeks turned pink as she turned her face back to the clouds in front of us.

"Well, what did you see?" Edward asked, looking at me.

"You and Bella fighting. You were yelling at her about something, then you mentioned I was in some kind of tournament, competing for eternal glory, or something along those lines. Then you told Bella she was fraternizing with the enemy."

"Weird," Edward said.

"Yeah, I know."

After my near-death incident, the rest of the trip was uneventful. We would duck beneath the clouds every 30 minutes to check that we were still following the train. The sky started to get dark as my stomach started rumbling. I was finishing telling Edward (I had told Rosalie one night at the Burrow) about my experience at River Way.

"…so after the house-elf dropped the pudding on the woman's head, my uncle locked me in my room until Fred, George, and Jasper rescued me."

"He wouldn't tell you who he heard these things from?"

"No. Every time he got close to letting something slip, he had to hurt himself. It was odd."

"Sounds strange," Edward said, looking into the night. "Hey, we're here!" he exclaimed, pointing at the castle. Sure enough, Hogwarts' castle was now visible. I was home again. The car gave a giant lurch.

"What was that?" I asked Rosalie, worried.

"Dunno. It's probably just tired—it's never made such a long trip before."

"Yeah, maybe."

We flew over the lake and were looking for a place to land when the car started dropping.

"What's happening?" I screeched.

"We're falling!" Edward yelled. "Rose, turn!" he yelled, pointing to the castle wall in front of us that we were about to hit. She jerked the wheel so we turned away from the castle, but we were now headed straight for a large tree in the middle of the grounds.

"LOOK OUT FOR THE TREE!" I yelled before the car slammed into the trunk.

I flew forward and crashed into the back of Rosalie's seat. I felt something sharp graze my cheek, and I assumed it was a piece of glass.

"Is everyone okay?" I whispered, looking at Rosalie and Edward. They both looked pretty banged up, and I saw Edward was staring at something in his hands, whimpering. "What's wrong?" I asked him.

"My wand…my wand. Esme's going to kill me! It was my dad's!" he groaned, looking at his now-defunct wand. It was almost completely in two pieces, with the exception of the few strands of wood holding the two pieces together.

I was about to tell him they could probably mend it in the castle when I was unceremoniously thrown into the side of the car. I looked forward and saw Rosalie was now in Edward's lap.

"What was—"

We were thrown to the side again as something hit the side of the car. I heard a thud and a screeching of metal as the roof of the car caved in on us.

The three of us started screaming as the car was pummeled at all sides by the branches of the tree we landed in.

I heard the windshield shatter as a branch shot through it and into the car.

"AHHH!" Rosalie screamed as something repeatedly whacked her car door. I heard her shriek with pain as she held her wrist. It looked like she had been hit by the tree.

"LET'S GET OUT OF HERE!" I bellowed. Edward reached over Rosalie and threw the car in drive. Rosalie stomped on the pedal and we shot out of the tree like we had been shot from a canon. I heard the tree thud on the ground as it attempted to smash us into the earth. We sped away from it, shaking.

Once we were at a safe distance, Rosalie hit the brakes. We sat there for a moment before we were flying through the air. I landed on the ground three feet from the car. I heard my arm crunch underneath me.

"Ow," I moaned, cradling my arm against my body. I was pretty sure it was broken. I looked over and saw Edward and Rosalie getting up from the ground.

The next minute, the car ejected our trunks, Venus, and Scabbers from the car. I caught Venus' cage before it hit the ground and opened it. She took off angrily, screeching. Rosalie was trying to calm Scabbers down, who was scratching at the bars on his cage.

The car then sped off into the Forbidden Forest. Rosalie chased after it, trying to catch it, but it was no use. The car was gone.

"Aww man," she moaned. "My dad's going to _kill_ me!"

She walked over to Scabbers and picked up his cage. He was biting the bars now. "Stupid rodent," she muttered. The three of us grabbed our trunks and pulled them up towards the castle. While we were walking, I told Edward about the poem I had received last night. After he had laughed, he asked me if I knew who sent it.

"No," I said. "I didn't recognize the owl or the handwriting. It's a mystery."

"Look," Rosalie said when we reached the door of the Great Hall. "The sorting's started." We watched as a girl with curly blonde hair went up and pulled the hat over her head. I looked over at the staff table and saw one empty chair.

"Hey, look," I hissed, pointing to the table. "Snape's not there! I wonder where he is."

"Maybe he's sick," Rosalie said optimistically.

"Maybe he left since he didn't get the Defense Against the Dark Arts job," I said. It was common knowledge that the one thing Snape desired to teach was Defense Against the Dark Arts.

"Maybe he was sacked!" Edward said hopefully. "I mean, everyone hates him."

"Or maybe he's waiting to hear why you three weren't on the train," a cold voice said behind us. Edward, Rosalie, and I spun around and saw Snape standing there, boring into us with his evil black eyes. Not saying anything, he curled his finger forward, beckoning for us to follow him. The three of us followed him into his office and sat down, staring up at him with fearful eyes.

He grabbed _The Evening Prophet_ from the pocket of his robes and threw it on his desk.

"You were _seen_!" he shouted. I looked down at the headline"

**FLYING FORD ANGLIA MYSTIFIES MUGGLES**

"Six Muggles total claim they saw a flying car today. I believe your father works in the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts office," he sneered, looking at Rosalie. "Dear, dear. His only daughter…"

"But sir—"

"Silence! Unfortunately, you are not in my house. If you were, you would be riding the train home_ tonight!_ That decision, however—"

"—rests with me, Severus," Professor McGonagall said sharply, entering the room. I knew Professor McGonagall was strict, but I had never seen her look so angry. She looked at the three of us. "Explain," she said, glaring at us.

I told her how the barrier refused to let us through and how we had no choice but to fly the car to school.

"Why didn't you send us a let by owl?" she asked coldly.

"I—I didn't think," I stuttered.

"That is obvious. I need to impress upon you the seriousness of your actions. All three of you will receive detentions."

"You mean, you're not expelling us?" Edward asked, shocked.

"Not tonight, Mr. Cullen. However, if you break any more school rules this year, I will have no choice. I will also be writing to your families. You should head to the hospital wing, Miss Brandon. That arm looks like it's broken."

"I'll go tomorrow, Professor," I said. "I'm really just hungry."

She waved her wand at Snape's desk and a plate of food appeared. We ate until we were full, then walked back to our dormitory. We reached the portrait, when I realized we didn't know the password.

"Umm…"

"No password, no entry," the Fat Lady said.

"Alice! Rosalie! Edward!" a voice called. I looked behind us and saw Bella running up the stairs. "_Where_ have you been? I heard a ridiculous rumor you had been expelled for flying a car—"

"We weren't expelled, but skip the lecture and give us the password."

"It's phoenix," she said, glaring at the three of us. When we walked into the common room, we were greeted by applause.

"Brilliant!" Emmett shouted, grabbing Edward and pulling him into a big hug.

"People will be talking about this for years!" Lee Jordan shouted, patting me on the back.

"Why didn't you tell us?" Fred and George whined at Rosalie.

"Let's go," I muttered to Rosalie, glancing at Percy. He was looking stern and walking towards us, obviously about to give us a lecture. Rosalie and I excused ourselves and headed into our dormitory. We both laid down on our beds, giggling.

Bella entered the next minute, followed by Lavender, Parvati, and Hermione.

"I can't believe you guys did that!" Lavender gasped.

"Weren't you scared?" Hermione asked.

Parvati just stared at us with wide eyes. I looked over at Bella, but she didn't say a word. She changed into her nightgown and crawled into bed. I followed suit and changed into my pajamas. Rosalie climbed into bed, clutching her diary. The last thing I heard before falling asleep was the scratching of her quill on one of the pages of her diary.

***

The next morning, Rosalie and I walked down to breakfast together. People were looking at us and whispering, obviously still discussing the car and the Whomping Willow incident from last night. We took a seat by Edward and Bella. Bella had a book propped open in front of her, but she wouldn't speak to us. She was still mad about the previous night.

I looked down the table and spotted Jasper sitting with Katie Bell. They had their fingers intertwined as he whispered in her ear and she giggled. I looked away miserably. I looked to the other side and saw Ron, Harry, and Hermione sitting together. The three of them smiled at me, and I thought I saw Harry blush slightly. Maybe I was imagining things.

At that moment, the mail came. An old grey owl crashed onto the table in front of Rosalie.

"Errol!" she exclaimed. "What are you—" She stopped talking when she saw the red envelope he had.

"Rosalie's got a Howler!" Dean said, laughing.

"Just open it," Edward said gently. "It'll all be over in a few minutes." I was wondering what a Howler was when Rosalie opened the letter.

"_**ROSALIE WEASLEY! WHAT WERE YOU THINKING, TAKING THE CAR? WE GOT BACK TO THE PARKING LOT—CAR GONE! YOU'RE LUCKY YOU WEREN'T KILLED OR EXPELLED! YOUR FATHER AND I HAVE NEVER BEEN MORE ASHAMED. DUMBLEDORE WROTE US LAST NIGHT—I HAVE NEVER BEEN MORE EMBARRASSED IN MY LIFE. I DON'T SUPPOSE YOU THOUGHT ABOUT YOUR FATHER OR I WHEN YOU, ALICE, AND EDWARD TOOK IT! YOUR FATHER IS NOW FACING AN INQUIRY AT WORK AND IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT. IF YOU PUT ANOTHER TOW OUT OF LINE, WE'LL COME STRAIGHT THERE AND DRAG YOU HOME!"**_

The letter burst into flames as Mrs. Weasley's voice died down. I felt terrible—Mr. Weasley had gotten into trouble at work. The Weasleys had been nothing but kind to me, and now Mr. Weasley could lose his job. I looked at Rosalie, and saw her face was bright red.

Bella closed her book and looked at her. "Well, I don't know what you—"

"Don't say I deserved it," Rosalie groaned. I saw her glance at Emmett, who was walking to the Ravenclaw table to talk to Summer. She shot daggers at Summer, then pulled out her diary and started writing in it.

After breakfast, we headed to the greenhouses for Herbology with the Hufflepuffs. When we got there, I felt another pang of guilt when I saw Professor Sprout walking towards us with bandages in her hands. She had been tending to the Whomping Willow. Gilderoy Lockhart was right behind her.

"Oh, hello," he greeted us. "I was just showing Professor Sprout how to properly bandage a Whomping Willow…"

"Greenhouse three!" Professor Sprout barked. We all started walking in when Professor Lockhart grabbed my robes and yanked me back.

"Is it alright if Alice is a little late to class?" It looked like Professor Sprout did mind, but Lockhart paid her no attention. He pulled me behind the greenhouse and started shaking his head.

"Alice, Alice, Alice," he muttered. "I blame myself for what happened yesterday."

"Sir, what are you—"

"Gave you a taste for publicity, I did. It's okay, I understand. You want to get your name out there. Now, Alice, you need to take baby steps, not giant leaps. You can't go around flying cars into trees to get your name in the paper. You have plenty of time for that when your older. I know, it's easy for me to say. After all, I am a famous wizard. Now I am, but when I was your age, I was more of a nobody than you! I mean, a few people have heard of you because of that thing with He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. I know it's not as good as winning _Witch Weekly's_ Most Charming Smile Award five weeks in a row, but it's a _start_!"

He flashed me his smile, then strode off into the castle. I stared at him, dumbfounded, before quietly entering the greenhouse. Professor Sprout had already started.

"Excellent, Miss Swan. Ten points to Gryffindor! Now, the mandrakes we have here are still young, so their cry won't kill you. It will only knock you out for a few hours. When I say so, put your earmuffs on. Only take them off when I give you a thumbs up."

We all snapped our earmuffs on and began repotting the mandrakes. It was easy, but messy work since the soil got on our clothes. When we left the greenhouse, I saw I had a black smudge on my skirt. When I went to smooth my shirt, I accidentally transferred the dirt onto there too. I ran into the bathroom to was my hands quickly before running to Transfiguration.

I sat next to Edward as we attempted to turn beetles into buttons. Edward had tried to mend his want with spell-o-tape, but it just kept emitting black smoke whenever he cast a spell.

"Write your grandparents for a new one," I suggested.

"No way. I'll get a Howler, just like Rosalie. This was my dad's old wand. If they find out I snapped it in half, they'll kill me."

After Transfiguration, we walked down to lunch with a Ravenclaw girl named Lauren Mallory. She was talking about how she was from Muggle parents and how it was such a surprise when she got her letter. She was going on and on how dreamy Lockhart was when we reached the Great Hall. I waved goodbye to her, then sank down between Rosalie and Edward.

"What do we have next?" I asked, spreading peanut butter on a piece of bread.

"Defense Against the Dark Arts," Bella said.

"Why have you outlined all of Lockhart's classes in hearts?" Edward asked, disgusted when he grabbed her schedule. She turned bright red, and was still pink when we started walking to Gilderoy Lockhart's classroom. While we were waiting outside, the girl I had seen getting sorted came up to me, clutching a camera.

"Hi Alice!" she squeaked. "I'm Jessica Stanley. I'm in Gryffindor too, and I was wondering if I could get a picture with you. You know, so I can prove I met you?" She handed the camera to Rosalie and stood next to me. "Maybe you could sign it afterward?" she asked.

"_Signed photos_?" I heard a cold voice drawl as Draco Malfoy walked down the corridor. "You're giving out signed photos, Brandon?"

"No I'm not. Shut up, Malfoy."

"Weasley and Weasley here," Malfoy said, pointing to Ron and Rosalie, "Would like a signed photo. It'll be worth more than their entire house."

I heard footsteps approaching and a voice asked, "Who's giving out signed photos?" Gilderoy Lockhart appeared and looked at me. "I should have guessed," he said, shaking his head."Okay, Miss Stanley. How about we give you a double portrait and then well both sign it?" Jessica beamed when he said this. Lockhart threw his arm around me as Jessica snapped the picture. "Alright, everyone head to class," he said. I started to walk into the room, when Lockhart grabbed my hand. Damn.

_I was lying on my back in the middle of the Quidditch field. I opened my eyes and saw a pair of glittering teeth above me. Lockhart._

"_Not to worry, not to worry," he was saying._

"_No, not you," I moaned as my arm throbbed. I looked at it and saw the bone was bent. I must have broken it somehow._

_Lockhart laughed. "She doesn't know what she's saying. It's alright, Alice. I'm going to fix your arm."_

"_NO!" I shouted. "I just want to go to the hospital wing. Madam Pomfrey can fix me."_

"_She really should go see Madam Pomfrey," Wood said, looking down at me. He had a huge grin on his face. "Excellent catch, Alice. Really. It was probably your best one yet."_

"_Everyone stand back!" Lockhart said, rolling up his sleeves._

"_No, don't," I moaned weakly. Lockhart pulled out his wand, waved it around, and then pointed it at my arm._

_The pain from my arm disappeared and was replaced by an unpleasant sensation. It felt like my arm was deflating. I carefully looked at my arm, and saw it was flat. Lockhart hadn't mended my bones—he had removed them._

"I want you to think about what we talked about, Miss Brandon," Lockhart said, ushering me into class. He obviously hadn't noticed that I had zoned out for his entire speech. What an idiot.

Lockhart started the class by giving us all an exam about himself. I just doodled on mine while Bella scribbled furiously. Of course, she had the highest score in the class. She blushed furiously when he complimented her.

"Now," he was saying, "It is my job to teach you how to defend yourself to the foulest creatures know to wizardkind. Now, remain calm," he said, walking over to a cage on his desk. "I must ask you not to scream. It might PROVOKE THEM!" he said, ripping the sheet off the cage. Inside were electric blue creatures that looked like fairies.

"Yes. Freshly Caught Cornish Pixies!"

"Brandon should be in the cage too, then," Malfoy called. "I mean, she's as small as a pixie." All the Slytherins laughed. I turned around in my seat and glared at him.

"Laugh all you want, Mr. Malfoy, but pixies are very tricky. Now, let's see how you do with them." He opened the door to the cage, and 20 pixies rushed out, wreaking havoc in the class. Seamus was lifted in the air and hung from the chandelier. The pixies were flying everywhere—breaking glass, throwing books, ripping papers, and spraying ink on all of us. I looked down at my shirt and saw it was completely black from the ink.

"Not to worry," Lockhart was saying, pulling out his wand. "_Peskipipsi Pesternomi!"_

The spell did nothing. Two pixies flew over to him, grabbed his wand, and threw it out the shattered window. Lockhart ran up to his office as everyone ran out of the class. The only people left were Bella, Edward, Rosalie, and I.

"I'll just ask you four to round the rest of them up," he said before slamming his door.

"What a crock!" Edward said when Lockhart had left. "He didn't have a clue what he was doing."

"What are you talking about?" Bella asked, sending a freezing charm into a group of pixies. "He just wanted to give us hands-on experience. Besides, he's brilliant. You've read his books—you've seen all the stuff he's done."

"Books can be deceiving," I added, remembering my vision. Gilderoy Lockhart was hiding something. What he was hiding was another question entirely.


	14. Whispers in the Corridors

Chapter 13: Whispers in the Corridors

**AN: Thanks for the reviews guys. I really appreciate your comments, so if you read, please review!**

The next week, I tried to avoid Lockhart and Jessica as much as I could, except they seemed to be everywhere I was. I was convinced Jessica had memorized my schedule so she could greet me before every class. It was really annoying.

Saturday morning— after my first week of classes, Angelina Johnson, the only other girl on the Quidditch team, woke me up at 6:30 in the morning.

"Wadda ya want?" I asked, barely opening my eyes.

"Get up," she whispered. "Wood wants us all down in the locker room in fifteen minutes. I'll wait by the portrait for you." She turned and walked out of the room. Trying not to wake everyone else, I stumbled around in the dark, searching for my Quidditch robes. When I had finally found them and pulled them on, I walked down the stairs to join Angelina. We both slung our brooms over our shoulders and walked down to the pitch. On the way, we talked.

"So, how was your summer?" she asked.

"Not bad—Fred, George, and Jasper rescued me from the Muggles by flying an illegal car across the country."

She snorted with laughter. "That's something they would do. So, did you spend the rest of the summer with the Weasleys, then?"

I nodded. "Yeah, I got to meet _most_ of Rosalie's family. Jasper was there, too." I blushed slightly when I remembered seeing Jasper in his pajama pants and nothing else every morning.

Angelina noticed. "No way!"

"What?"

"You have a thing for Hale!"

"No I don't," I mumbled, my cheeks burning bright red at this point. She didn't buy it.

"You so do. I can tell by the way you look at him with those big blue eyes you have. So, does he know?"

"No," I said softly.

"So why don't you tell him? You two would be so cute together!"

"One, he's two years older than me—"

"So?" she interrupted. "I went out with Anthony Williams last winter, and he was a seventh year!"

"Okay, well what happens if we go out and then break up? What would that do for Quidditch?"

"You're a Seeker and he's a Chaser—you really don't interact that much on the field. Anyways, I'm sure you wouldn't break up. Like I said, you two are perfect for each other."

"He has a girlfriend," I said quietly.

"Really? Who?"

"Katie Bell. She's a third year in Gryffindor." I looked at the ground.

"Well, maybe if you told him how you felt, he'd date you instead," she suggested.

"I can't do that, Angelina. Imagine if that was your boyfriend. Besides, I think someone's going to ask me out soon."

"Why do you say that?"

"Look at this." I pulled the note I had gotten the night before school started out of my pocket and handed it to her. She read it, then looked at me.

"Wow, that's so romantic! Do you know who sent it?"

"No idea. Rosalie and I have been trying to figure it out, but we don't have a clue."

"Do you think it could have been Jasper?" she asked.

"Why would he send me that?" I asked.

"I've seen the way he looks at you. Maybe it's his way of letting you know he fancies you."

"I doubt it. He's older, gorgeous, and can have any girl he wants. Why would he want me?"

"Because you're cute, adorable, and perfect. How could any guy resist you?"

I let out a snort. She just looked at me.

"Mark my words, Alice. You and Jasper will be together one day."

"Okay. And Snape will get the Defense Against the Dark Arts job."

We both started laughing. We were smiling when we entered the locker room. The rest of the team was already there, waiting for us.

"Now that the girls are here, we can finally start," Wood said, glaring at us. I sat down on the bench between Jasper and Emmett. Angelina took a seat next to Fred.

"Okay guys, I've developed a whole new training program this summer. We're going to start training earlier so we can win the cup. We're the best team out there and we should have won last year, but owing to certain circumstances…"

I shifted uncomfortably. Since I was unconscious during the final match, Gryffindor had to play with six people, resulting in their worst defeat in 300 years.

"That's all in the past now. Let's go over the plays."

Wood pulled out a stack of charts and went through each one. I rested my head on Jasper's shoulder. He looked down at me and smiled. He put his arm around my waist and rubbed my back.

I thought back to what Angelina had said: could Jasper have written me the note? He always talked to me, even when he was with his friends. He always smiled at me and he never treated me like I was famous—he treated me like everyone else.

"Okay men—"

"—and women," Angelia added.

"Let's get out there and practice these moves," Wood said. Jasper shifted and I sat up. He turned to me and gently placed his finger on my cheek. Why did this have to keep happening to me?

_I was sitting outside behind the statue of Godric Gryffindor. I looked down and saw I was in a long blue dress. I was shivering because it was cold out, but I was also crying. I looked down at the picture in my hands and tore it up._

"_Alice?" I heard a voice say. I looked up and saw Jasper, in midnight blue dress robes, looking down at me. I put my face in my hands and started crying again._

"_Alice! Are you okay?" he asked, sitting down next to me._

"_What do you bloody think?" I shouted. "I'm sitting outside in the cold, crying my eyes out, because my boyfriend dumped me at the Yule Ball for another girl!" When I thought about him, I burst into another round of tears. "Why are you out here?"_

"_Rosalie saw you leave the ball and she was worried about you. She didn't want to leave, so she asked me to come out and check on you. I was worried about you, too."_

"_Why do you care?" I said coldly. "You don't like me—you made that clear at the beginning of this year."_

"_Of course I like you, Alice. Your sweet, funny, and you don't care about what other people say about you." He tried to put his arm around me, but I turned away._

"_Why are you out here?" I asked again._

"_Because I—I—"_

"_You what?_

"_I love you."_

"_Please. You're only saying that because you think it'll make me feel better. Well, guess what? I'm over you. You broke my heart, Jasper Hale, and I don't want to have anything to do with you." I stood up and started walking away._

"_Alice, please listen to me," Jasper begged. I turned around and saw he was standing behind me, looking at me._

"_What do you want from me?" I screamed. "Why are you torturing me? I got over you—I moved on! And now, your sucking me back in. Why can't you just leave me alone?" I broke into tears and ran towards the lake. I heard footsteps behind me. I was a fast runner, but I was no match for Jasper. In a few moments, he had caught up with me. He grabbed my gloved hand and spun me around._

"_Alice, I'm not joking. I love you, and I know you still love me. I can see it in your eyes whenever you see me with Maria. I know you want to be with me, and I want to be with you." He pulled me close and placed his lips on mine._

"Alice, let's go!" Wood snapped. I shook my head, grabbed my broom, and headed out to the Quidditch pitch.

I looked over and saw Bella, Edward, and Rosalie sitting in stands.

"Are you finished?" Rosalie asked, looking up from the book on her lap. I looked closer and saw a quill in her hand. She must be writing in her diary. Again.

"Haven't started yet," I said. "Wood's been teaching us some new moves."

"Okay," Wood said, getting everyone's attention. "Let's practice some of those new moves." We all pushed off the ground and the wind whipped around my face. I forgot how much I loved flying.

"Hey, what's that clicking sound?" Fred asked. I looked over into the stands and saw Jessica, with her camera plastered to her face, taking pictures.

"Why is that girl taking pictures? Is she a spy from Slytherin?" Wood asked.

"No, she's in Gryffindor."

"Besides, the Slytherins don't need a spy," George added.

"Why not?" Wood asked. Fred pointed at the ground, and we saw seven guys in emerald robes walking onto the field. We all touched down, and Wood stormed over to the Slytherins.

"Flint!" he shouted. "What are you doing here? I booked the field last week!"

"Calm down, Wood," Marcus Flint, the Slytherin captain, sneered. "I have a note." Wood pulled the note out of his hands and read it aloud.

"'I, Severus Snape, give the Slytherin team permission to practice today, owing to the need to train their new Seeker.' You have a new Seeker? Who?"

Flint put his hand on a small boy's shoulder. I looked at his face, and realized it was Malfoy.

"Malfoy?" I asked skeptically.

"Surprised? My father also made a generous donation to the team," he said, showing off his new broom. I looked and saw everyone on the team had them.

"What's going on?" Edward asked, walking onto the field. "What are _you_ doing here?" he said, noticing Malfoy.

"Everyone's just been admiring my father's gift to the team. New Nimbus 2001's. They outstrip the Nimbus 2000's by a considerable amount. As for the Cleansweep series, there's no comparison." He looked over at Fred and George Weasley and smiled nastily.

"At least nobody on the Gryffindor team had to buy their way on," Bella piped up. "They got in on pure talent."

Malfoy glared at her. "Nobody asked your opinion, you filthy little mudblood."

Malfoy had obviously said something very offensive. Jasper and Emmett had to grab Fred and George to prevent them from killing Malfoy. Angelina screamed a string of profanities at Malfoy while Edward pulled out his wand.

"You'll pay for that, Malfoy. Eat slugs!" Instead of shooting the spell at Malfoy, Edward's taped wand backfired and shot a jet of blue light into him. He was knocked over into the grass.

"Edward! Edward! Are you okay?" Bella said, rushing to his side. I looked down at Edward. He looked like he was going to throw up.

"Edward, say something!" Rosalie cried. Edward turned over onto his hands and knees and three slugs fell from his mouth.

"Eww," Rosalie moaned. The Slytherin team busted out laughing at him. Flint was leaning on Blaise Zambini, one of the Chasers.

"Here, let's get him to Hagrid's" I said, throwing Edward's arm over my shoulder and hoisting him up. Rosalie helped him on the other side while Bella conjured up a bucket and held it under his mouth. The four of us walked down to Hagrid's hut and knocked on the door.

"Bin wonderin' when yeh four would come and—blimey! What happened ter him?" Hagrid asked when he saw Edward.

"He tried to curse someone with a broken wand," Rosalie said, looking pitifully at Edward. He belched a few more slugs into the bucket.

"Who were yeh tryin' ter curse?" he asked Edward.

"Malfoy," he said before sticking his face back in the bucket.

"That's it," Hagrid said, putting his arm around Edward's shoulder. "Better out than in. Why were yeh tryin' ter curse him?"

"He called Bella a mudblood," Rosalie said quietly.

"He didn't!"

"Yeah, but I don't what it means," Bella said softly.

"It's the most insultin' thing yeh can call someone who's Muggle-born. Means dirty blood. People like the Malfoy's think they're better than everybody. They're what yeh would call Pureblood. They think people who come from Muggle parentage are lower than them. It's all rubbish—there isn't a spell that Bella can't do. Anyways, most of the wizards around are half-blood. We had ter marry Muggles or we'd all die out."

Bella smiled at Hagrid as he gave her a hug.

"Anyways, it's a good thing the spell backfired. I reckon Lucius Malfoy would've gotten yeh in trouble if yeh had managed ter curse his son. At least yer not in trouble."

My stomach started grumbling. I looked at the clock in Hagrid's hut and saw it was almost lunchtime. I hadn't had anything to eat all day.

"Hagrid, we're going to go back up to the castle and get some lunch. We'll see you later."

"Alright. Feel better, Edward." Edward smiled weakly at Hagrid, then we helped him back up. We took a seat at the table when Professor McGonagall came over to us.

"Brandon! Weasley! Cullen!"

"Yes?" I said, looking up at her as I put some soup in a bowl.

"You three will serve our detentions tonight."

"What are we going to be doing?" Rosalie asked.

"You will be serving detention with Professor Snape, Miss Weasley. You will be helping him brew some Pepperup potion. Mr. Cullen, you will be polishing the trophies in the trophy room—no magic. Miss Brandon, you will be helping Professor Lockhart answer his fan mail."

"Oh, Professor—couldn't I do the trophy room too?"

"Certainly not. Besides, Professor Lockhart requested you." She walked away.

"Brewing potion with Snape? I'll be there all night—I'm terrible at potions," Rosalie whined.

"That's nothing. I've never cleaned without magic before—I'll be lucky if I get out before the end of the year," Edward moaned before belching up another slug into the bucket.

"You know Lockhart's going to be talking the whole time and giving me advice about being famous," I complained.

"Oh, this came at breakfast for you," Rosalie said, handing me a letter before returning to eating and writing in her diary. I ripped open the envelope and pulled out a piece of parchment. I read it"

_Slytherins are evil,  
Hufflepuffs are nice,  
Ravenclaws are smart,  
But Gryffindors add spice._

I'm not evil, but I'm nice.  
I'm somewhat intelligent, but I would spice up your life.  
So please say yes, Alice Brandon,  
Say yes to me,  
You'll make me the happiest guy,  
That lived this century.

"It's another note," I said, handing it to her.

"Who is it?"

"I don't know, but we know it's someone in Gryffindor. That at least eliminates a bunch of people. I'll have to look into this further. I will find out who's sending me these!"

***

At eight o'clock, I walked into Lockhart's office.

"Ah, there she is!" Lockhart said when he saw me. I looked around the room—it was decorated with pictures of himself, smiling and waving. I silently groaned and took a seat next to him at his desk. "You're going to address the envelopes while I answer some of my fan mail."

The work wasn't bad. Just long. And boring. Lockhart kept talking about the lonely women who wrote to him and told him how much they loved him. Every so often, he would say something like "Celebrity is as celebrity does," or "Fame is a fickle friend." I just shook my head and kept writing.

I felt my eyes starting to droop, but I had no idea what time it was. I was about to ask Lockhart how much longer, when I heard something.

"_Let me rip…let me tear…I smell blood…"_

"What was that?" I asked.

"Excuse me?" Lockhart asked, looking up from his letter.

"That voice! Didn't you hear it?"

"I have no idea what you are talking about, Alice."

I shrugged my shoulders and went back to addressing the envelope when I heard it again.

"_Come…come to me…let me kill you…"_

"There it is again!" I said, jumping to my feet.

"Now Alice dear, I'm sure your just drowsy," he said, looking at the clock. "And I can see why! Time flies when you're having fun, eh?"

I ignored him, putting my ear in the air, trying to hear the voice again. There was nothing.

"Well then, off to bed, you," Lockhart said, shoving me out of his office. I walked back up to the common room, and wasn't surprised to see it deserted—it was past midnight. I looked over and saw Bella in the corner, reading.

"Are Rosalie and Edward back?" I asked, walking up to her.

"No, you're the first one," she said, not taking her eyes off _Voyages with Vampires._ I took a seat next to her and pulled out a piece of parchment and a quill, starting my Potions essay on Swelling Solutions. I was finishing the first paragraph when both Rosalie and Edward stumbled through the door. Rosalie sat down next to me on the couch and collapsed. Edward sunk into one of the armchairs, nursing his arm.

"How was it?" I asked them.

"Horrible," Rosalie whimpered. "Snape wouldn't let me leave until I got it perfect—we don't even brew that potion until fourth year!"

"He made me buff that one Quidditch cup fifty times! And then I belched slugs all over a Special Service to the School award—it took me an hour to get all the slime off!"

"Listen, there's something I need to tell you guys," I said, leaning forward. I told them about the voice I heard in Lockhart's office, and how he claimed he didn't hear anything.

"D'you think he was lying?" Bella asked.

"I dunno. And I don't know who it was—I mean, even an invisible person would have had to open the door, right?"

"It's weird," Bella agreed.

***

October arrived, causing the temperature to drop and the wind to pick up. Many students were getting cold. I noticed Rosalie was looking pale, but I assumed it was from the weather.

It was also raining a lot more, but that didn't stop Wood from making us train. One Saturday morning, I walked back into the castle, dripping mud after practice. It had been pouring rain, but Wood still kept us outside for three hours.

Walking down the corridor, I thought about the Slytherin team. I didn't know how we were going to do in the upcoming match against them—they looked like green blurs when they flew on their new brooms. When I got to the end of the corridor, I saw Nearly Headless Nick, looking just as troubled as me.

"Hello, Nick," I greeted him.

"Greetings, Alice. You look bothered."

"So do you," I said, referring to his perplexed expression. "Is something wrong?"

"It's nothing," he said, very unconvincingly.

"Nick, what's wrong?" I asked kindly.

He sighed. "It's just—I thought I'd apply for fun—not that I actually wanted to join, but apparently I don't 'fulfill requirements'…but you would think getting hit in the neck with an axe 45 times would qualify to be beheaded, wouldn't you say?"

"Um, sure."

He handed me a sheet of paper. I looked down and read:

_Dear Mr. Porpington,  
We are sorry, but we cannot admit you to the Headless Hut. We can only admit huntsmen whose heads have completely departed from their bodies. Since yours is still attached, you would be unable to participate in activities such as headless hockey and headless polo.. I must regretfully tell you do not fulfill requirements. Best wishes,  
Sir Patrick Delaney-Podmore._

"Most people," he said, "Would think half an inch of skin is good and decapitated, but it's not good enough for Sir Properly Decapitated Podmore! So—is there anything I can do for you?"

"No," I said glumly. "Unless you know where I can get seven free Nimbus 2001's."

Suddenly, I heard a loud mewing sound. I looked down and saw Mrs. Norris standing there, looking at me. I wasn't doing anything wrong, so I didn't know why she was there.

"I'd get out of here if I were you, Alice," Nick advised. "Filch has a cold and has been cleaning the dungeons all morning. He's in a foul mood."

"Thanks, Nick," I said backing away from the spot. Unfortunately, I backed into Filch. Damn!

"Filth!" he screamed. "Mud! I've had enough—follow me, Miss Brandon."

Sighing, I followed Filch down to his office and took a seat. He pulled out a piece of parchment and began writing. "Student? Alice Brandon. Crime? Befouling the castle," he sneered nastily.

"It was only a little bit of mud!"

"To you, maybe. But to me it means an extra hour of cleaning. I tell you I've had—"

He was interrupted by a large crash above the office.

"PEEVES!" he shouted, racing out of the room. I stayed where I was, waiting for him to come back. On his desk, I saw a large purple envelope. Curious, I opened it and pulled out a sheet of paper.

_Kwikspell: Learn Easy Magic in Five Steps  
(don't just take our word for it!)_

_Mrs. L. Emboli of Kent: Before, I couldn't even turn a beetle into a button! After Kwikspell, I was able to turn my husband into a walrus for making fun of me. Thank you Kwikspell!_

_Ms. E. Roswell of London: I was always going to my friends for simple potions and they always mocked me for it. After I used Kwikspell, their now the ones coming to me!_

I heard footsteps and Filch muttering. I quickly threw the envelope on his desk as he entered the room. I realized too late that it was a foot away from where it started. Filch looked like he was going to murder me.

"That's—did you—doesn't matter—not mine—well, get out. I need to write Peeves' report up."

I didn't need to be told twice. I leapt out of my seat and ran out of his office. There, I ran into Nick again.

"Did it work?" he asked.

"That was _you_?"

"I convinced Peeves to drop the vanishing cabinet above Filch's office. It might have broken in the process, but it was worth it if you got out of trouble."

"Hey, thanks, Nick. I wish there was something I could do for you."

"Perhaps there is. On Halloween, I'm having my 500th Deathday party. It would be an honor if you would attend. Of course, I would understand if you would rather go to the school feast."

"No, I'd be delighted to come," I said, smiling him.

"Oh, wonderful. Of course, Miss Swan, Miss Weasley, and Mr. Cullen are welcome too. Well, I'll see you later."

"Bye, Nick," I said, walking back to Gryffindor tower."

***

On Halloween evening, Bella, Rosalie, and I were getting ready for Nick's party. We weren't sure if you were supposed to dress up or not, so we decided to wear short dresses that weren't too fancy. We both had on similar dresses with stockings. Mine was red, Rosalie's was brown, and Bella's was grey.

Once we walked out of our dorm, we met Edward by the portrait hole.

"Wow, you all look great," he said, staring at Bella. She blushed slightly and took his arm. The four of us headed to the dungeons. We passed the Great Hall and smelled the appetizing food, but we kept going, praying there would be food at this party.

When we entered the dungeons, everything was draped in black. There were candles floating in the air. I looked around and saw hundreds of ghosts. All the school ghosts were there, along with many I had never seen before.

I started shivering, regretting not bringing my cloak. Rosalie was worse—her dress was short-sleeved. Edward saw her and gave her his cloak. She gave him a warm smile. I looked around and saw Nick greeting everyone with a mournful expression on his face.

"Let's go see Nick," I said, pointing him out. The four of us walked over to the Gryffindor ghost.

"Uh, great party, Nick," Bella said politely.

"Alice! You made it! I'm glad you four are enjoying yourselves. Not a bad turnout—the Wandering Widow came all the way from Paris! Well, time for my speech." He floated to the front while Edward, Bella, Rosalie, and I made our way over to the food table.

"Good," Edward said as we got closer. "I'm starving." When we looked down at the food, we realized none of it was edible. It was all rotting and smelly—nothing alive people could eat.

"C'mon," I said quietly. "Let's get out of here—there might be some pudding left in the Great Hall if we hurry."

The four of us got out of there as fast as we could. We were walking towards the Great Hall when I stopped dead. I heard the voice again.

"…_rip…tear…kill…"_

"It's the voice again!" I said, running towards it.

"Alice, what are you—"

"Shut up a minute and listen!" I pressed my ear to the wall and heard it again.

"…_kill…time to kill…"_

"It's going to kill someone!" I shouted, running down the corridor and up the stairs. Bella, Rosalie, and Edward were following me.

"Alice, wait!"

"…_I smell blood…I SMELL BLOOD!"_

"Hurry up or we'll be too late!" I shouted, rounding the corner. When I saw what was there, I came to a stop.

"Alice, what's going on?" Bella asked.

"_That!_" I said, pointing to the wall. The four of us stared at the wall, our eyes wide. I looked over at Rosalie and saw her face had gone paler than it had been this month.

On the wall, there was a message shining in red paint that looked like blood. Underneath it, there was water on the floor. I walked up and read the message aloud.

"'THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS HAS BEEN OPENED. ENEMIES OF THE HEIR, BEWARE.' What does that mean?" I asked.

Bella shrieked. "Look!" she said, pointing to the one torch. I looked over and gasped. Mrs. Norris was hanging by her tail, not moving. Her eyes were wide open, but she wasn't seeing anything.

"Let's get out of here!" Edward hissed.

"Shouldn't we try to help?" Rosalie asked, looking at the cat with pity.

"We don't want to be found here," I told her. We were backing away when we heard footsteps. The feast had just ended. The entire school walked into the corridor and stopped at the sight of the four of us next to the message and the immobile cat.

"'Enemies of the Heir, beware.' You'll be next mudbloods," Draco Malfoy said, staring at Bella. The whole crowd was silent as they stared at us with accusing eyes.

**The dresses Alice, Bella, and Rosalie wore to Nick's party are in my profile. Check them out! And remember, REVIEW!!**


	15. There's Something About Rosalie

Chapter 14: There's Something About Rosalie

Things could not have been worse. Rosalie, Bella, Edward and I were standing right next to Filch's dead cat with writing on the wall in blood while the whole school was staring at us. Did I say things couldn't have been worse? They were once Filch arrived on the scene.

"What's going on here?" he asked, pushing his way through the crowd until he was only a few feet from us. He stopped dead when he saw Mrs. Norris hanging on the wall, not moving. "Mrs. Norris! My cat! What have you done to her?"

"I didn't do—"

"You murdered her! I'll kill you! I'll—"

"_Argus!_" a stern voice commanded. Everyone turned their heads as Dumbledore walked through the crowd, followed by a bunch of the teachers. He looked at me briefly before walking over to Mrs. Norris and taking her down from the torch bracket. "Everyone back to your dorms," he commanded. Everyone started leaving. Edward, Bella, Rosalie, and I started walking away. "Everyone except for you four."

Crap. We were going to be expelled, I knew it. Filch would tell him how we killed his cat, and who was going to believe four second years over Filch? It was no secret that everyone loathed him.

"My office is closest, Headmaster," Lockhart said. "You can use it, if you'd like."

"Thank you, Gilderoy." The four of us followed the procession of teachers miserably. I looked over at Rosalie and she looked petrified. Her face was paler then I had ever seen it. Bella was ringing her hands while Edward had his hands in his pockets, looking at the ground. We walked into Lockhart's office and Dumbledore put Mrs. Norris on his desk. He started examining her while Lockhart spoke.

"…it was definitely a curse that killed her—probably the Lithuanian Lifewiper. Such a shame I wasn't here—I know the _exact_ countercurse to stop it!"

Filch kept sobbing the entire time Lockhart was talking. He was sitting in a chair in the corner, not looking at Mrs. Norris. He kept shooting me murderous glances before putting his head back in his hands. I shifted uncomfortably where I was standing. What if Dumbledore believed Filch that I killed Mrs. Norris?

Dumbledore started muttering some words under his breath and tapping Mrs. Norris with his wand. He looked slightly confused when nothing happened.

"She's not dead, Argus," Dumbledore said quietly.

"What?" Filch said.

"What?" Lockhart said, looking stunned.

"Albus, why is she all stiff and frozen?" Professor McGonagall asked.

"She's been petrified. But how, I cannot say…"

"Ask _her_!" Filch shrieked, pointing at me.

"There is no possible way a second year could have done this. It takes very advanced Dark Magic to—"

"It was her! I know it was her! You saw what she wrote on the wall!" Rosalie turned pale when he said this. "She knows I'm a Squib!"

"I never laid a _finger_ on Mrs. Norris! I don't even know what a Squib is!" I said loudly, trying to defend myself against Filch's accusations. I knew I didn't do anything.

"Codswallop! She saw my Kwikspell letter!" Filch bored into me with accusing eyes.

"If I may speak," Snape said nastily. I knew this was bad—nothing Snape had to say could help me. "Perhaps Miss Brandon and her friends were in the wrong place at the wrong time." I looked at him, stunned. Snape, helping me? Had the world gone mad? "However, we do have some suspicious circumstances on our hands. Why were they not at the Halloween feast with the rest of the school? Why were they up here instead?"

Rosalie, Bella, Edward, and I started explaining about the Deathday party.

"Go get Nick—he'll tell you we were there!" I said.

"Why not join the feast afterwards?"

"Because—because—" I tried to think of some explanation. I knew saying a disembodied voice led me there would not only sound farfetched, they would think I was losing my marbles.

"Because we were tired and wanted to go to bed," Bella said.

"Without any supper? I didn't think ghosts provided food for mortal people at their parties."

"We weren't hungry," Edward said as his stomach rumbled loudly. Snape's nasty smile widened.

"It seems as if Miss Brandon and her friends are not being entirely honest with us. I suggest, until they are ready to tell us the whole truth, they should be denied of certain privileges, Quidditch, for example."

"Innocent until proven guilty, Severus," Dumbledore said. Snape looked pissed. So did Filch.

"My cat has been attacked! I want to see some punishment!"

"We will be able to sure her, Argus. Professor Sprout has acquired some Mandrakes. Once they reach full size, we can make a potion that will revive her. You four may go," he added, turning to us. We got out of there as quick as we could and made our way back to the common room. When we got there, it was empty.

"Do you think I should have told them about the voice?" I asked Rosalie. She shook her head.

"No. Even in the wizarding world, hearing voices no one else can hear is a bad sign."

"You believe me, don't you?" I asked them.

"Of course we do, Alice, but you have to admit, it's really weird," Bella said cautiously.

"I know. What was with the whole Chamber of Secrets thing?"

"It sounds familiar. I think Carlisle told me a story about it once," Edward said.

"Well, we need to get to bed," Bella said, starting up the stairs to the dormitory. I quickly changed into my pajamas and climbed into bed. I heard Bella and Rosalie fall asleep, but I still sat in bed, thinking. I remembered the voice I heard that led me to Mrs. Norris. I fell asleep, the image of the petrified cat burned into my eyes.

***

The whole week, all anyone could talk about was the attack. Filch didn't help matters—he kept patrolling the spot where she was petrified and kept giving kids detention for things like smiling and being happy. He had tried everything to remove the writing on the wall, but it still gleamed as red as it had Halloween night.

Rosalie was very upset by Mrs. Norris's attack, which confused me since she hated Filch.

"But Rose," Edward was saying to her in the library one day, "You've despised Filch ever since he gave you detention for accidentally stepping on Mrs. Norris's tail."

"Shut up, Edward," she snapped, picking up her books and storming out of the library. Sighing, I got up and walked over to find a book about medieval wizards. There, I saw Lauren Mallory, the girl from my Transfiguration class. I waved at her. She took one look at me, then ran in the other direction. Confused, I walked back and sat next to Edward.

"I'm still a foot short," Edward groaned, throwing his History of Magic essay in the table. "Bella won't even let me look at hers—hers is five feet and her handwriting is so small!"

"Where is Bella?" I asked, measuring my essay to make sure it was the required three feet.

"Looking for another book. I swear, she's trying to memorize every book in this place." He shuddered.

I told Edward about what had just happened with Lauren.

"I wouldn't worry about it. She seemed like a nut job—going on about how _dreamy_ Lockhart was." He made a gagging noise.

Bella appeared at that moment. She huffed irritably, then slumped down in the chair next to me.

"What's got your panties in a bunch?" Edward asked. She shot him a glare. "Sorry."

"All the copies of _Hogwarts, A History_ are out. I can't believe I left mine at home!"

"Why do you even want it?" I asked.

"The same reason everyone else does—to read about the Chamber of Secrets."

"What is it?" Edward asked.

"I can't remember. And I can't find the story anywhere else."

"Bells, let me read your essay," Edward said, desperately trying to persuade Bella.

"No way," she snapped, throwing her scroll in her bag. "You've had over a week to finish it."

"Please?"

"No. I won't let you cheat off me." The three of us left the library and headed to History of Magic with Professor Binns.

"Alice, where's Rosalie?" Bella whispered to me when we got to History of Magic.

"I don't know. The last time I saw her was when we were in the library. Maybe she fell asleep in our room," I suggested, looking around the room for my best friend. I didn't see her.

I laid my head on my desk as Professor Binns talked about something that I didn't care enough to pay attention to. Then, something extraordinary happened.

Bella raised her hand.'

"Yes, miss…?"

"Swan. Professor, I was wondering if you could tell us about the legend of the Chamber of Secrets." Professor Binns looked at her, annoyed that she had interrupted his lecture for this.

"Miss Swan, my subject is _history_ of magic. I deal with facts, not myths and legends. Now, as I was saying—"

Bella put her hand in the air again.

"Miss Sun?"

"Don't legends always have basis in fact, sir?" she asked.

"Well, I suppose so, however, this legend is so far-fetched, it is ludicrous to even suggest—" Professor Binns looked around the classroom and saw every student was paying attention. Even Dean Thomas, who normally slept during the class, had his eyes up front.

"Oh, very well," he mumbled. "You all know Hogwarts was founded by four of the greatest witches and wizards of their time. In fact, the four houses are named after them: Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, Rowena Ravenclaw, and Salazar Slytherin. They built this castle, away from Muggles so that children could practice magic without persecution. For years, the founders worked in harmony, bringing young people who showed magical abilities to the castle and training them in the magical arts. Soon, however, disagreements, sprang up between Slytherin and the other founders. Slytherin wished to be more selective, only admitting children from wizarding families. He believed magic should be kept pure, and children from Muggle families were untrustworthy. Eventually, Gryffindor and Slytherin got into a large argument, ending with Slytherin leaving the school.

"Historical sources tell us this much, but the facts have been clouded by the legend of the Chamber of Secrets. Now, according to legend, Slytherin had built a hidden chamber in the castle that the other founders knew nothing about. Allegedly, Slytherin sealed the chamber, making it so only his heir could open it. The heir, whenever he or she arrived at the school, would be able to open the chamber and purge the school of all those unworthy, in Slytherin's eyes, to study magic with the horror within."

Everyone in the class was staring at Professor Binns with wide eyes and open mouths.

"The whole thing is nonsense. The school has been searched many times, but no chamber has ever been discovered."

"Sir," Edward asked. "What is meant by 'the horror within'?"

"There is believed to be a monster living in the chamber. A monster which on the heir of Slytherin can control."

I looked over at Bella, and she had the same worried look that I did.

"It's nonsense. A story made to frighten the gullible. There is no Chamber of Secrets and no monster."

"But sir," Dean said, "If only the heir can open it, then wouldn't it be impossible to find?"

"Nonsense, Thompson," Professor Binns said. "Now, we are going to return to history, dealing with facts, not fiction." Professor Binns began talking about medieval witches, and I lay back down on my desk, trying not to think about Salazar Slytherin or the horror within.

***

"I always knew Salazar Slytherin was a crazy old loony," Edward said as we walked towards the Great Hall, "But I never knew he was the one who came up with all this pureblood nonsense. I tell you, you couldn't pay me to be in his house. If the hat had placed me there, I would have gotten back on the train and left, wouldn't you?" Bella nodded in agreement, but I didn't say anything.

I had never told any of my friends that the sorting hat had almost put _me_ in Slytherin. I remembered the small voice in my head, telling me I could be great and Slytherin would help me do it, but Hagrid had told me about Slytherin's reputation, and that was the last place in the world I wanted to end up.

While we were walking down the corridor, I passed by Jessica Stanley.

"Hi, Alice!" she said in her squeaky little voice.

"Hi, Jess," I said.

"Alice, there' a girl in my class—she's saying—" She was cut off by a group of people heading towards the Great Hall. "See you later!"

"What's someone in her class saying?" Bella asked as the three of us walked along.

"Probably that I'm the heir of Slytherin," I said glumly.

Edward made a disgusted noise, and the three of us made our way up the staircase—where we saw Rosalie sitting on the one window ledge.

"Rose?" I asked, approaching her.

"Alice? Where did you come from?" She looked very confused.

"What happened to you? Where were you during History of Magic?"

"What? No, we have that next," she said, looking at us with worry.

"No, we were just there. Rose, where were you?"

"Uh, I have to go!" she said, grabbing her stuff and running down the hall.

"What's up with her?" Edward asked.

"Dunno. But do you really think there's a Chamber of Secrets?" I asked Bella.

"Maybe. I mean, Dumbledore couldn't cure Mrs. Norris, which makes me think whatever attacked her isn't human." As Bella finished her thought, we turned the corner and found ourselves at the scene of the crime.

"Well, we're not doing anything wrong by looking around, right?" I said to the other two. They shrugged their shoulders, and the three of us began looking around for some kind of clues that could tell us what happened to Mrs. Norris. I looked along the wall. "Scorch marks," I said, running my hand along them.

"Hey, look at this!" Bella called by the window. I went over to her and saw a group of twenty spiders trying to fit through the crack in the window. They all looked terrified. "Have you ever seen spiders act like that?" Bella asked.

"No. How about you, Edward?" I looked around, but Edward was pressed up against the other wall. "Edward, what's wrong?"

"I don't like spiders," he mumbled.

"Really?" Bella asked, suppressing a giggle.

"It's not funny! When I was little, I accidentally squished Emmett's pet frog, so he turned my teddy bear into a spider. You wouldn't like them if you had been holding your bear and suddenly it had too many legs and…" He shuddered.

"Hey, remember all the water that was on the floor? Where did that come from?"

"From here," Edward said, pointing to a door. It was a girls' bathroom.

"That's Moaning Myrtle's toilet," Bella said, opening the door.

"Bella, I can't go in there!" Edward objected.

"Oh, stop being a baby," Bella said, grabbing his hand and pulling him in. I followed. I had heard about Moaning Myrtle, but I'd never been in her toilet. When I walked in, I looked around, and realized I had never been in a gloomier place in my life, and I had lived with the Prunley's for 10 years. The mirrors were cracked and dirty, the sinks were chipped, and the floor was filled with water.

Even gloomier than the room was the ghost living there. She was sitting up by the window, looking miserable. She had long black hair that covered her face, a dirty robe on, and glasses. She was also crying.

"Hello, Myrtle," Bella said cheerfully. "How are you?"

"What's _he_ doing here?" she asked, pointing at Edward. "This is a _girls'_ toilet!"

"He wanted to see how—er—nice it is here."

"Myrtle," I said kindly. "We were wondering if you had seen anything on Halloween night since a cat was attacked right outside your bathroom."

"I wasn't paying attention," she said tragically. "Peeves upset me that night, so I came back here to try and kill myself when I remembered that I'm—I'm—"

"Already dead?" Edward asked.

Myrtle burst into tears, then dove into the toilet. I assumed she had settles somewhere in the U-bend.

"Let's go," I said, motioning to Edward and Bella.

"EDWARD!" a loud voice shouted, aiming all of us jump. I spun around and saw Percy Weasley, Rosalie's older brother, standing there, glaring at us. "That's a _girls'_ bathroom. What are you—?"

"I'm just looking around," Edward said nonchalantly.

"Get away from there," he said, grabbing my hand

_Edward and I were sitting at breakfast, eating, when Rosalie came and sat down next to me. Her face was as white as a sheet and she looked extremely nervous._

"_Hey," I said. "Where have you been? McGonagall just said that they're going to revive the petrified people soon. The potion's ready."_

_Rosalie didn't say anything. She just looked up and down the table. I looked in her lap and saw she was twisting her hands around. When she started rocking back and forth, I realized she looked just like Dobby when he was on the verge of revealing something forbidden._

"_I have to tell you something," she whispered. _

"_What is it?" Edward asked, looking up at her._

_She looked down the table to make sure no one was listening to us. Fred, George, Emmett, and Jasper were sitting at the other end, hanging with Katie Bell and Angelina Johnson. Summer Wheatley was also sitting with them._

_Rosalie opened her mouth to speak, but no sound came out. She opened her eyes wide and looked terrified, like something was going to come and kill her if she said anything._

"_Is it about the Chamber of Secrets?" I asked quietly. "Have you seen someone acting oddly? Do you know who the heir is?"_

_Rosalie took a deep breath and was about to say something when Percy appeared. "Are you done eating Rose? If you are, I'll take that seat." Rosalie jumped up like her seat had been set on fire and ran away, fear still in her eyes._

"_Percy," Edward groaned. "Rosalie was going to tell us something important!"_

"_What sort of thing?" Percy asked, choking on his tea._

"_Well," I said, "We asked her if she had seen anything strange…"_

"_That's not about the Chamber of Secrets," Percy said quickly._

"_How do you know?" Edward asked skeptically. Ever since Percy had threatened to write to Esme, he had been very cool towards Rosalie's older brother._

"_Well, if you must know, she walked in on me the other day when I was—um—well, never mind. I just asked her not to mention it. I can't believe she would tell you."_

"_What were you doing?"" Edward asked, smirking._

"If I see you by here again, I'll write to Esme!" Percy huffed. Edward looked shocked.

"You wouldn't!"

"I would! Don't you care about Emmett or my sister? Rosalie is terrified you all are going to be expelled. Now get down to the Great Hall!" He stormed off.

"He's only worried Rosalie's going to mess up his chances of becoming Head Boy," Edward muttered as the three of us walked away.

***

That night, Edward, Bella, and I sat far away from Percy as we worked on our Charms homework. I looked over at Rosalie, who was sitting with Fred and George, and saw she was writing in her diary again.

"Hey," I said quietly, "Do guys think something is wrong with Rosalie? She hasn't been hanging around with us lately and she's always writing in her diary."

Bella shrugged her shoulders while Edward tried to clean up his parchment with his want, lighting it on fire.

"Ugh, this is no use!" he said, slamming his book shut. Bella followed suit.

"Who do you think It could be?" Bella asked, referring to our earlier conversation.

"Hmm, let's think," Edward said sarcastically. "Who do we know who hates Muggle-borns?"

"If you're talking about Malfoy—"

"Of course I'm talking about Malfoy! You heard him, '_you'll be next, Mudbloods_'—you've only got to look at his nasty face to know it's him."

"But Malfoy, the heir of Slytherin?" Bella asked skeptically.

"I don't know, Bella," I said. "I mean, his whole family has been in Slytherin and he's always boasting about it. They could definitely be Slytherin's descendents—his father is evil enough. They could have had they key to the Chamber for centuries, handing it down parent to child."

"There's no way to prove it, though," Edward said glumly.

"Actually, there might be," Bella said quietly, looking around to make sure no one was listening to us. "It would be really difficult," she went on. "And it would be dangerous. Mind you, we'd be breaking about 100 school rules in the process…"

"If, at the end of the year, you fell like telling us, will you let us know?" Edward snapped at her.

"Fine," Bella said coldly. "What we need to do is get into the Slytherin common room and ask Malfoy a bunch of questions without him knowing it's us."

"That's impossible," Edward and I said simultaneously.

"No, it's not," Bella said, smiling. "All we need is some Polyjuice potion."

"Polyjuice potion?" I asked.

"What's that?" Edward said, confused.

"Don't you two _ever_ listen in potions?"

"Do you think we've got nothing better to do than listen to Snape in potions?" Edward said.

Bella sighed annoyed. "It transforms you into another person. Think about it—we could turn into Malfoy's friends, sneak into their common room, and get Malfoy to spill the beans about being the heir of Slytherin. I mean, he tells Crabbe and Goyle everything."

"I dunno," Edward said. "What if we're stuck looking like who we turn into forever? I don't want to look like one of those ugly gits for the rest of my life."

"It wears off," Bella said impatiently. "But getting a recipe is going to be difficult. It's in a book called _Most Potent Potions_ and it's in the Restricted Section of the library."

"Hard to see why we would want it if we're not planning on making any of the potions," Edward reasoned.

"I think if we make it seem like we're interesting in the theory, we might be able to convince them."

"Oh, come on, Bella," I said. "No teacher is going to fall for that. They'd have to be really thick…"

***

"Umm, Professor Lockhart?" Bella said, approaching Lockhart's desk one day after class. Edward and I waited behind her. Rosalie had failed to show up for the Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson, and I was beginning to worry about her. That was the second lesson she had missed without an explanation. Plus, she was looking really pale, she wasn't hanging around with me as much because she was never around.

"Yes, Miss Swan?" Lockhart said, looking up from a paper.

"I wanted to get a book out of the library. But you see, it's in the restricted section, so I need a teacher's note. I thought it could help me understand what you were saying in _Voyages With Vampires_ about—"

"Ah, _Voyages With Vampires_! You liked it?

"Oh, yes! It was so brave the way you fought off that vampire without your wand!"

"Well," Lockhart said, pulling out a large purple quill, "I don't think anyone will mind me giving the best student of the year a little extra help." He winked at Bella as she blushed furiously. Edward gave Lockhart an angry look. Lockhart signed a big, loopy signature, then handed the paper back to Bella.

Bella, Edward, and I left the room quickly after that and made our way to the library.

"He didn't even _look_ at the book we wanted!" I exclaimed.

"That's because he's a brainless _git_!" Edward remarked.

"He is not!" Bella said, defending Lockhart.

"Please! You're only saying that because he said you were the best in our year!" The two of them fought until we arrived in the library, where they promptly shut up. Bella pulled the note out of her bag and handed it to Madam Pince, the librarian.

"_Most Potent Potions?_" she asked, looking at the three of us suspiciously. She took the note from Bella and examined it. It obviously passed her test because she disappeared, reappearing a minute later with a large, old book. Bella put it in her bag and the three of us left the library and headed for Moaning Myrtle's bathroom.

On the way, I saw Rosalie walking down the corridor, her hair and robes covered with feathers.

"Rose, where were you in Defense Against the Dark Arts today?" I asked, grabbing her arm.

"What?" she said, looking confused.

"What's with all the feathers?" Edward asked, suppressing a laugh.

"I—I—I have to go!" Rosalie said, sprinting down the corridor.

I looked back at her as Bella, Edward and I continued our way to the bathroom. We walked in and sat on the ground, all reading the book.

"This is the most complicated potion I've ever seen!" Bella exclaimed, reading the directions. I looked at the pictures, and hoped the author had imagined the looks of intense pain on the people. "Look at this—powdered horn of bicorn—I have no idea where we're going to get that. Shredded skin of boomslang? There's no way that's in the student's cabinet. And then we need a bit of whoever we're turning into."

"Excuse me?" I asked, shocked.

"Well, yeah. You need a little bit of whoever's appearance you want to take."

"I'm not drinking _anything_ with Crabbe's toenails in it!" Edward shouted.

"Bella, I don't know if this is a good idea. Do you know how much we're going to have to steal?" I said.

"If you're going to chicken out—fine! _I_ don't like breaking rules! _I_ think hurting Muggle-borns is far worse, but if you're afraid, I;; go back to the library and turn this book in!"

"You're right," Edward admitted. "Just no toenails."

"How long will it take to make?" I asked.

"Well, the lacewing flies need to stew for 21 days and the fluxweed needs to be picked at the full moon, so about a month."

"A month?" Edward asked. "Malfoy could have attacked half the school by then!"

"I know," Bella said. "But it's our only option."

**So so so so so so sorry about the long time between updates. I was away and I've been getting ready for school, but I know that's no excuse. Okay, so my plan is to try to update once a week. So plan on Thursday updates from now on since it's the day I don't have class. If you haven't reviewed yet, please review! I love hearing from you guys ******


	16. Attack! Attack!

Chapter 15: Attack! Attack!

**AN: Thanks to all who reviewed. **

Saturday morning, I woke up early, nervous against the Quidditch match against Slytherin. What would Oliver say if we lost? How was I supposed to compete against the fastest brooms known to man?

Sighing, I got out of bed and changed inst a pair of jeans and a white tee shirt. I grabbed my red sweater and headed down to breakfast. Bella was still sleeping, but Rose was already gone.

I made my way down to the Great Hall and spotted Oliver, Fred, George, Emmett, Jasper, and Angelina sitting together, looking nervous. On the other side of the table, Rosalie was sitting alone, writing in her diary. I took a seat next to her and looked at her.

"Hey."

"Oh, hi," she said, closing the book.

"Is everything okay with you?" I asked. "You've been acting a little strange and you missed two lessons this week without an explanation."

"I'm fine," she snapped. "There's nothing wrong with me!"

"Okay. Sorry I asked," I said meekly.

"I'm sorry, Alice," she apologized. "I didn't mean to yell at you. I'm just really freaked about this whole heir of Slytherin stuff."

"I know me too."

"You should be worrying about the Quidditch match," she reminded me.

"I'm trying not to think about it," I groaned. At that moment, the mail arrived and a gorgeous snowy owl landed in front of me, bringing me a letter.

"Your admirer again?" she asked.

"I think so." I ripped open the envelope and pulled out a small piece of parchment.

_Slytherin may have better brooms,  
But you pack a punch.  
Good luck, but please don't get hurt,  
So I can gaze upon your beautiful face at lunch._

I passed the note to Rose after I finished reading it.

"Who is this guy?" she asked.

"No idea. I wish he would just come clean and ask me out already," I sighed, resting my head on the table.

"Alice!" Bella shouted, running towards me. "You need to get down to the pitch—it's almost time for the match!"

Waving bye to Bella and Rosalie, I sprinted down to the locker room and quickly pulled on my robes. Then, I took a seat next to Jasper as Wood began his pre-game speech.

"Okay men—"

"—and women," Angelina and I added.

"And women," he tacked on. "Slytherin has better brooms than us—there's no point denying it. What they don't have is better _people_ on those brooms. We've trained harder than them and in all weathers."

"To true," Fred whispered to me. "I haven't been properly dry since August."

Wood glared at him. "We're going to make them regret the day they let that little slimeball Malfoy buy his way onto the team." He turned to me. "It'll be up to you, Alice. Show him a Seeker needs more than a rich family. Either get the Snitch or die trying, because we've got to win!"

"No pressure, Alice," Emmett laughed.

The seven of us walked onto the field and were greeted by many cheers. I saw Rosalie, Bella, and Edward waving at me. They were sitting with Ron and Harry, who both gave me a smile and a thumbs up. I rose into the air as Madam Hooch blew her whistle, signaling the beginning of the match.

"Check this out, Scarhead," Malfoy shouted, shooting to the other end of the pitch.

I didn't have a chance to reply because I had to duck as a Bludger shot at my head. I felt my robes rustle as it went by.

"Close one," Fred shouted as he hit the Bludger towards Blaise Zambini, who was bringing the Quaffle towards Oliver. The Bludger, however, had other plans. It changed directions and shot towards me instead. Fred shot out in front of me and hit the Bludger towards Malfoy, but it changed course and came at me again.

I sped off towards the other end of the pitch with the Bludger tailing me. George hit the Bludger away, but it came right back at me.

What was going on? Bludgers were supposed to knock as many people off as they could, not concentrate on one.

Fred and George were now flying so close to me, we were practically holding hands.

"We need a time-out," I said to Fred. He signaled to Wood while fighting off the mad Bludger. Madam Hooch blew her whistle and the three of us joined the rest of the team in a huddle.

"Fred and George where were you guys when that Bludger stopped Jasper from scoring? We're being killed!" Wood shouted.

"We were on the other side of the pitch, stopping the other one from murdering Alice."

"It hasn't gone for anyone else the entire match," George added. "Someone's tampered with it."

"That's impossible—the Bludgers have been locked inside Madam Hooch's office since our last practice, and they were fine then," Wood said confidently, but he looked worried.

"Listen, I'm not going to catch the Snitch with you two hovering around me like mother birds. Tell them to leave me alone and let me deal with it myself."

"You heard her," Wood said to Fred and George.

Jasper turned to Wood. "If she dies, I blame you!" he shouted angrily. "'Get the Snitch or die trying.' What a stupid thing to say…" He continued screaming at Wood until we were back in the air, and even then, I could still hear him shouting.

Almost instantly, as if it had been waiting for me, the Bludger lunged at my head. I twisted and turned, trying to avoid it. Malfoy sat on his broom in the air, laughing at me.

"Training for the ballet?"I was

I glared at him as he laughed and saw something—_the Golden Snitch!_ It was hovering above Malfoy's ear and he, busy laughing at me, hadn't noticed it. I was just about to try to grab it when I felt my arm give out—the Bludger had finally gotten me. Holding on for dear life, I sped towards Malfoy's head and grabbed the Snitch before flying towards the ground and falling off my broom.

"Alice!

"Alice!"

The entire team flew towards me and looked down at me on the ground. I held the Snitch in the air for them all to see.

"We've won," I said weakly before fainting.

***

I was lying on my back in the middle of the Quidditch field. I opened my eyes and saw a pair of glittering teeth above me. Lockhart.

"Not to worry, not to worry," he was saying.

"No, not you," I moaned as my arm throbbed. I looked at it and saw the bone was bent. The Bludger must have broken it.

Lockhart laughed. "She doesn't know what she's saying. It's all right, Alice. I'm going to fix your arm."

"NO!" I shouted. "I just want to go to the hospital wing. Madam Pomfrey can fix me."

"She really should go see Madam Pomfrey," Wood said, looking down at me. He had a huge grin on his face. "Excellent catch, Alice. Really. It was probably your best one yet."

"Everyone stand back!" Lockhart said, rolling up his sleeves.

"No, don't," I moaned weakly. Lockhart pulled out his wand, waved it around, and then pointed it at my arm.

The pain from my arm disappeared and was replaced by an unpleasant sensation. It felt like my arm was deflating. I carefully looked at my arm, and saw it was flat. Lockhart hadn't mended my bones—he had removed them.

***

"How can you stick up for Lockhart now?" Edward asked Bella trough the curtain as she and Rosalie helped me change. Rosalie grabbed my deflated arm and I zoned out like usual.

"_Rosalie! Rosalie! Wake up!" I shouted, grabbing her shoulders and shaking her. She was lying on the ground, not moving._

"_Please wake up," I cried. "Please don't be dead. Please, you've got to open your eyes!"_

"_She won't open them," a soft voice said. I looked up and saw a tall handsome guy leaning against the nearest pillar. He had black hair, but his whole body appeared blurry, as if he wasn't really there._

"_Aro?" I asked. "Aro Voltri?" He nodded. "Wait, what do you mean? She's not—?"_

"_Dead? No, she's still alive, but barely."_

"_Are you a ghost?"_

_He shook his head. "A memory, preserved in a diary for 50 years." He pointed to the black book, lying on the ground, open, next to the still Rosalie._

_I bent down to pick up my wand, but saw it had vanished._

"_Hey, have you seen my—?" I looked over at Aro and saw he was holding my wand in his right hand. "Hey, thanks."_

_He smiled evilly. "You won't be needing this._

"You're in for a rough night," Madam Pomfrey said, handing me a beaker full of some steaming liquid. "Regrowing bones is no walk in the park." I drank the potion quickly, and felt my insides burn. I quickly drank some water after I finished it. Madam Pomfrey took the empty glass and left me with Bella, Edward, and Rosalie, grumbling about inept teachers.

Bella was fluffing my pillows as Rosalie sat next to me, writing in her diary.

"What are you always writing in this thing?" Edward asked, trying to grab the book out of her hands. Rosalie pulled it close to her chest.

"A girls' diary is private," she said, setting it in her lap and closing the book. She stowed it away in her bag.

Just then, the Quidditch team came in, their arms full of food.

"Amazing flying!" Jasper shouted, taking a seat on my left.

"I just saw Flint yelling at Malfoy—he didn't look to happy," Emmett chuckled, walking over to Rosalie. "Scoot over, Rosie."

"I can't imagine he did," Edward laughed, taking a Chocolate Frog out of Fred's arms.

"He was too busy being a prat to notice the Snitch was right next to him!" Everyone roared with laughter.

"What are you all doing here?" I asked, sitting up in my bed.

"Since you're stuck here, we thought we'd bring the party to you," Wood said, handing me a Pumpkin Pasty.

The entire Gryffindor Quidditch team, along with Edward, Bella, and Rosalie, celebrated the win with me in the hospital wing. The finally left when Madam Pomfrey all but forcibly removed them.

***

In the middle of the night, I woke up from a stabbing pain in my arm. When I opened my eyes, I saw someone was standing over me.

"Dobby!" I shouted loudly. I glanced over, but Madam Pomfrey hadn't woken up. "What are you _doing_ here?" I hissed.

"Alice Brandon came back to Hogwarts," he said sadly. "Dobby warned Alice Brandon. Why didn't miss listen to Dobby? Why didn't Alice Brandon go home when she missed the train?"

"Wait a minute," I said, propping myself up in my bed. "How did you know I missed the train?"

Dobby's lips quivered and his ears dropped.

"It was _you_!" I whispered angrily. "You stopped the barrier from letting us through!"

"Yes, miss," Dobby said, nodding his head. "Dobby waited for Alice Brandon and sealed the gateway. Dobby had to iron his hands afterwards," he said, holding up his ten bandaged fingers. "Dobby never dreamed Alice Brandon would get to school another way!"

"Rosalie, Edward, and I were almost expelled!" I whispered.

"It was worth it of Alice Brandon was safe." He blew his nose on the corner of the pillowcase he wore.

"He, Dobby?" I asked. "Why do you wear that thing?"

"Tis the mark of a house-elf, miss. Dobby can only be freed if his masters present him with clothing. Dobby's masters make sure never to accidentally even pass Dobby a sock, or Dobby would be free to leave their place forever." He stared at me with his big black eyes. "Alice Brandon _must_ go home! Dobby was sure his Bludger—"

"_Your_ Bludger? You almost got me killed!"

"Killed? No, miss, not killed. Dobby only wanted Alice Brandon hurt enough to go home."

"But why?" I asked.

"If Alice Brandon only knew!" he cried, rocking back and forth. "Miss is so important to the enslaved creatures of the magical world. When He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named was in power, we house-elves were treated like dirt. Of course, Dobby still is, but conditions for my kind have mostly improved. When Alice Brandon defeated the Dark Lord, it was a new dawn. Now, there is a plot to repeat history. Terrible things are going to happen now that the Chamber of Secrets has been opened once again—"

Dobby looked horrified at what he had just said before he threw himself into the wall.

"Again?" I asked. "You mean it's been opened before? Tell me, Dobby," I said, seizing the elf. "I'm not Muggle-born so I can't be in danger—right?"

"Ask no more, miss!" Dobby squeaked, wringing his hands in his lap.

"Who is it, Dobby? Who opened it last time? Who's doing it now?"

I heard footsteps and I looked towards the doorway.

"Dobby must go, miss," he said before disappearing with a loud crack. My hands were still clenched where he had been a moment before. I laid back down before the doors to the hospital wing opened and Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall came in, carrying something stiff and rigid.

"What happened, Albus?" Madam Pomfrey asked as she came out of her room and stared at the figure.

"Another attack," he said softly. "Minerva found her on the staircase."

"We think she was trying to sneak in to visit Miss Brandon," McGonagall added.

I raised myself off my bed a few inches and peered over towards them.

It was little Jessica Stanley, frozen solid, the camera still clenched in her tiny hands.

"Do you think she managed to get a picture of her attacker?" Madam Pomfrey asked as Dumbledore gently removed the camera from her hands. He opened the back of the camera. There was a hiss, a jet of steam, and the melted film poured out of the compartment.

"What does this mean, Albus?"

"It means," he said gravely, "That the Chamber of Secrets has been opened again."

"But who?" Professor McGonagall asked as Madam Pomfrey gasped.

"The question isn't who," he said. "The question is _how_."

***

When I opened my eyes next, it was morning. I glanced next to me, but Jessica's bed had been blocked by curtains.

Madam Pomfrey brought me breakfast and made me stretch my arm for her. When she decided everything was fine, she said I could leave once I finished eating.

I ran up to Gryffindor Tower to find Bella, Edward, and Rosalie to tell them about last night, but none of them were there.

I started walking down to the Great Hall when I ran into Percy Weasley.

"Oh, hello Alice. Excellent flying yesterday—Gryffindor has taken the lead in the House Cup."

"Have you seen Edward, Bella, or Rosalie?" I asked him.

"I saw Edward and Bella with a cauldron this morning, but Rosalie wasn't with them. Come to think of it, I haven't seen Rosalie since the match yesterday.

"Oh, okay. Thanks, Percy," I said, running off towards Moaning Myrtle's toilet, worrying about Rosalie. I opened the door to the bathroom and slipped in quietly. "It's Alice," I whispered once I was inside.

"Alice!" Bella squealed, opening the door to the stall. I saw Edward sitting on the ground around a cauldron, putting ingredients into it. "Sit down. How's your arm?"

"Fine. There was another attack—"

"We know," Bella interrupted. "We overheard McGonagall telling Flitwick this morning. That's why we didn't come to meet you. We thought we should get a start on the potion so we can get a confession out of Malfoy sooner."

"I think he was in such a foul mood after the match yesterday that he took it out on Jessica," Edward theorized.

"That's not the only thing that happened last night. Dobby came to visit me." They both looked at me with wide eyes, and I told them everything Dobby had said, and everything he hadn't.

"That Chamber of Secrets has been opened _before_?" Bella asked, stunned.

I nodded.

"That settles it," Edward said. "Lucius Malfoy opened the Chamber before, and now he's taught dear old Draco how to do it. It all makes perfect sense. I just wish Dobby had told you what kind of monster it was. I'd like to know how it's getting around the school."

"Me too," Bella added. "Maybe it can make itself invisible or disguise itself. I read that the Chameleon Ghoul—"

"You read too much," Edward muttered, throwing the rest of the Lacewing flies into the cauldron. Bella turned bright red.

"Have you seen Rosalie at all?" I asked them. They both shook their heads.

"She was gone when I got up this morning," Bella said.

"Where did she go?"

"No idea. I wonder what's going on with her."

"I have an idea," I said quietly.

"What?" Bella asked. I shook my head and jerked my head towards Edward. Bella sighed. "Oh, just tell him. He'll find out eventually."

"Tell me what?" Edward asked, looking from me to Bella.

I sighed. "Rosalie fancies Emmett."

Edward burst into laughter. He only stopped when he saw Bella and me glaring at him. "Are you serious?"

I nodded. "She's been in love with him ever since he spent the summer at her house with Fred and George. Maybe she's been all distant since he's dating Summer."

"Doubt it. Besides, he and Summer broke up yesterday."

"Then what's going on with Rosalie?"

***

Once December arrived, McGonagall collected the names of the people who were staying over for Christmas. Malfoy was staying, so Bella and I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to question him.

"I can't," Edward said when we put our names down. "I have to go home for a family thing."

"But the potion!" Bella protested.

"I can't. I'm really sorry."

"We still need the boomslang skin and the bicorn horn," I reminded her.

"You need to find away to distract Snape for five minutes so I can sneak into his office and steal the ingredients. Just cause a little mayhem," she said to Edward and I as the three of us walked to Potions. Great. I'd rather face Slytherin's monster alone than deliberately cause mayhem in Snape's class. Battling the monster, there was a chance I'd come out alive.

Rosalie wasn't with us, and none of us had seen her. When we got to the dungeons, I looked around the room, hoping to spot her, but she wasn't there.

My Swelling Solution was too runny, but I had other things to worry about. I kept my eyes on Bella, waiting for her signal.

Snape commented on my potion, but before he left to go bully Dean, he turned to me. "Make sure Miss Weasley knows I will fail her if she misses another class."

Crap. I really needed to find Rosalie and see what was going on with her.

Bella nodded once Snape had turned his back. I pulled one of Fred's fireworks out of my robe, lit it with the tip of my wand, and threw it towards Goyle's cauldron. Bullseye! The cauldron exploded and splashed everywhere. I saw Malfoy take some to the face and grinned. People were screaming as their noses, ears, and other limbs began to triple in size.

"QUIET!" Snape thundered. "Anyone who has been hit with the potion, come to the front for some Deflating Draft."

Half the class walked up, some weighed down with arms the size of clubs, others with their faces drooping. I saw Bella slip back in, her robes bulging. I gave her a thumbs up as Snape strolled over to Goyle's cauldron and pulled out the burnt firework. Everyone gasped.

"If I _ever_ find out who threw this, I will _personally_ make sure that person is expelled." He glared at me while I put on the same face I used when Uncle John would accuse me of torturing April.

"He knows it was me," I said to Edward and Bella as we walked to Moaning Myrtle's toilet.

"He can't prove it," Bella said. "Well, the good thing is the potion will be ready in two weeks."

"Good. Then we can get the confession out of Malfoy and be done with it."

I didn't say anything. I had a growing suspicion I knew who the heir of Slytherin was, and it wasn't Malfoy.

***

The next week, Rosalie, Bella, Edward, and I were walking towards Gryffindor Tower when we saw a notice on the board. Seamus, Dean, Harry, and Ron were all staring at it.

"They're starting a Dueling Club!" Ron said excitedly, turning toward us. When he saw me, he nudged Harry. Harry turned, gave me a small smile, then the two of them walked away.

"What do they think, Slytherin's monster can duel?" Edward joked, but the four of us decided to check it out.

At seven that evening, we went down to the Great Hall. I saw Fred, George, and Emmett standing together in a group laughing. To the left, I saw Summer. When she saw Emmett, she burst into tears. Rosalie looked at me, confused.

"They broke up."

"Oh." She seemed disinterested, which was odd.

"Rose, he's single. Now, I want you to go over there and tell him how you feel."

"I can't."

"Why not?"

"I don't deserve him," she said sadly.

"What do you—oh no," I groaned when Lockhart walked onto the stage. Of course he was our instructor.

"Good evening," he greeted us. "Professor Dumbledore has given me permission to start this little club so that all of you will know how to defend yourselves should you even need to. Professor Snape has told me he knows something about dueling and has agreed to help me. Don't worry, you'll still have your potions master when I'm through with him." I saw Snape's lip curl and wondered why Lockhart didn't run away.

Both Lockhart and Snape walked to opposite ends of the stage. "On the count of three, we will both cast our spells. Neither of us will be aiming to kill."

"Don't bet on that," I muttered to Edward, looking at Snape's murderous glare.

"One—two—three!"

"_Expelliarmus!"_ Snape cried. Lockhart was thrown off his feet and into the wall. The Slytherins cheered while Bella and most of the other girls squealed.

"Do you think he's okay?" Bella asked, peeking through her hands, which were covering her eyes.

"Who cares?" I said. "That was so cool!"

"Enough demonstrating," Lockhart said, getting up. "We're going to come around and pair you up so you can practice on your own."

Snape, unfortunately, reached us before Lockhart did. "Time to split up the fantastic four," he sneered. "Weasley, you pair up with Granger. Cullen, you're with Potter. Swan, you and Mr. Weasley can practice together. Malfoy, let's see what you can make of the famous Alice Brandon." Snape brushed by me and his hand rubbed against mine.

"_He's back! I saw him come back! It's true!"_

"_Please," the older man in the room scoffed, obviously not believing me._

"_I saw it with my own eyes! He did some kind of spell to regain his body. He even took some of my blood!" I shoved my arm out towards him so he could see the spot where Wormtail cut me with the dagger to get some of my blood._

"_You expect me to believe this girl?" he said to Dumbledore. "She's mentally unstable!"_

"_You've been reading Rita Skeeter," I said quietly._

"_So what if I have? You've been keeping a lot from me, Dumbledore! Like that fact that she has visions of the future? Or her falling down all over the castle? And she's a Parslemouth!"_

"_You are referring to the side effects Lord Voldemort's curse had on Alice when he tried to kill her as a baby," Dumbledore said softly. "Just because she has glimpses of the future does not make her a liar, Cornelius."_

"_Here," Snape said, holding out his arm. The dark mark was branded there, shining in black ink. "It's not as clear as it was an hour ago, but it's still there. When he would touch his own mark, ours would burn and we were told to apparate there instantly. It wouldn't be burning this bright if he wasn't really back."_

"Face your partners and bow," Lockhart commanded. I faced Malfoy and barely inclined my head, not taking my eyes off him. "On the count of three, attempt to disarm—_only_ disarm—your opponents. One—two—three!"

I swung my wand, but Malfoy had started on two. He hit me with a Tickling charm and I fell to my knees with uncontrollable laughter. Malfoy stared at me with a triumphant look on his face. Between giggles, I pointed my wand at him and choked out, "_Tarantallegra!_" Instantly, his legs began jerking in every direction.

"Stop! STOP!" Lockhart was shouting, trying to regain control, but Snape took charge instead.

"_Finite Incantatem!_" Instantly, I stopped laughing and Malfoy stopped dancing. I looked over and saw Edward apologizing to Harry, who was attempting to put out a fire on his robes, for whatever his broken wand had done. Rosalie was lying on the floor while Hermione tried to help her up. Bella was helping Ron off the ground and handed him his wand.

"I think I better teach you how to _block_ unfriendly spells," Lockhart said, looking around the room. "Let's have a volunteer pair—Cullen and Potter!"

"Bad idea," Snape said, looking at Edward. "Cullen causes so much destruction with that broken wand, we'll be sending the remainder of Potter to the hospital wing." Edward's face turned bright red. "How about Brandon and Malfoy?"

"Excellent idea!" Lockhart exclaimed. Everyone moved to the side to give us room. "Now, Alice, when Draco casts his spell, you do _this_." He waved his wand in a complicated motion and dropped it. Snape bent down and whispered something in Malfoy's ear.

"Scared, Brandon?" Malfoy said, grinning.

"You wish."

"One—two—three!"

Malfoy raised his wand and shouted, "_Serpensortia!_" Instantly, a giant black snake emerged from the tip of his wand and landed on the ground.

The snake slithered towards Lauren Mallory, ready to strike. I ran towards the snake and shouted, "Get away from her!" The snaked looked at me, then slumped and slithered away. I looked back at Lauren, expecting to see her smiling with gratitude. Instead, she looked horrified.

"What do you think you're doing?" she shouted before storming out of the room, followed by the rest of the Ravenclaws. Snape vanished the snake, but he looked at me with uncertain eyes.

"C'mon," Edward whispered in my ear, grabbing my hand and pulling me out of the Great Hall.

"_I thought she fancied my brother!" Edward said, shocked, as he, Bella, and I stared at Rosalie in the Three Broomsticks, snogging Oliver Wood_

"_She did," I said. "But she can't spend her whole life waiting for him. She's got to have her own life. Plus, she really likes Oliver."_

"_Hey Edward, Bella," Emmett said, sitting down at our table. "Hi, Alice," he whispered to me. I was sitting under the cloak, so no one could see me. "What are you guys staring at? He glanced over at Rosalie and his jaw dropped open. "What is she doing?" he growled._

"_Snogging her boyfriend," Bella said, taking a sip of butterbeer._

"_I'm getting Fred and George," he said, jumping to his feet. "They'll put a stop to this!" He stormed out of the Three Broomsticks, muttering to himself._

"_What's his problem?" I asked._

"_He fancies her," Edward said. "Told me so last week. He wanted to ask her to Hogsmeade, but he chickened out. He's afraid of what Fred and George would say."_

"You're a Parslemouth! You can talk to snakes!" He, Bella, and Rosalie all looked worried.

"I know. I mean, that's only the second time it ever happened. I accidentally sent a python on April at the zoo when I was eight—long story—because it told me it missed its family. That was before I knew I was a witch."

"A python told you it missed its family?" Rosalie asked faintly.

"So?"

"Alice, this is bad," Edward said.

"Why?"

"Because that's what Salazar Slytherin was famous for. That's why Slytherin's symbol is a serpent. Everyone's going to think you're his great-great-great-great-great-granddaughter or something," Bella said.

My mouth dropped open. "But I'm not!"

"That'll be hard to prove. He lived over a thousand years ago. For all we know, you could be."

***

The next day, I wanted to find Lauren and explain what happened, but she was nowhere to be found. I walked down to the library, but I didn't see her. There was a group of Ravenclaws sitting there, talking.

"I told Lauren to stay in our dorm all day," a girl with black hair was saying. "I mean, if Alice has marked her as her next victim…she's actually been waiting for this to happen after she told her she was Muggle-born. That's not something you let slip with Slytherin's heir on the loose!"

"You think it is her, Cho?" a brown-haired girl asked.

"Angela, look at the facts! She's a Parslemouth! Everyone knows that's the mark of a dark wizard. Plus, the wall said, 'Enemies of the heir, beware!' Alice had a run-in with Filch earlier that day. Next thing you know, his cat's been petrified. That first-year was always annoying Alice. She's the next one petrified."

"But she always seemed so nice," Angela said quietly. "And she's the one who made You-Know-Who disappear."

"Ever wonder how she survived that?" Cho asked. "She was only a baby—she should have been blown to bits. That takes some serious dark magic to survive that. You-Know-Who probably went after her in the first place because he didn't want another dark wizard _competing_ with him!"

Feeling sick to my stomach, I walked away—and ran straight into Hagrid.

"Yeh all right, Alice?" he asked, helping me up. "Yeh looked worried."

I couldn't bring myself to repeat what Cho and the other Ravenclaws had said about me.

"It's nothing. What's that?" I asked, pointing to the thing in his hand.

"Dead rooster. It's the third one I found this term. I'm going to the headmaster ter ask him fer permission to put a charm around the coop. Are yeh sure yer okay?"

"I have to go," I said quickly, walking back towards Gryffindor tower. On the way, I pulled a Bella-move and tripped over something. I looked back to see what I had tripped over, and froze.

Lauren Mallory was lying on the ground, petrified. Next to her, Nearly Headless Nick was lying, frozen solid, a look of fear in his eyes. I started backing away when a door opened and Peeves floated out.

"Why it's little Alice Brandon," he chuckled. "What's she up to? Why is she lurking—" He stopped talking when he saw Lauren and Nick on the floor. Before I could stop him, he filled his lungs with air and shouted, "ATTACK! ATTACK! ANOTHER ATTACK! NO MORTAL OR GHOST IS SAFE! RUN FOR YOUR LIVES! ATTAAAAAAACK!"

Bang! Every door in the corridor opened and it filled with people. Cho, the Ravenclaw, along with her friends, arrived and spotted Lauren.

"Caught in the act!" Cho shouted, pointing at me.

"That will do, Miss Chang!" Professor McGonagall snapped.

Peeves, who was loving the chaos, floated above everyone. Eventually, he broke into a song:

"_Oh, Alice, you malice, oh, what have you done?  
You're killing off students, you think it's good fun!"_

"That will do!" she sighed at Peeves. He stuck his tongue out and zoomed away.

"Follow me, Miss Brandon."

"Professor, I swear—"

"This is out of my hands," she said, leading me to a large gargoyle. "Fizzing Whizzbee." The gargoyle sprang to life, leapt out of the way, and a set of stairs descended. She led me up them, but I knew where I was going. I was going to see Dumbledore.

**Why don't you press that button at the bottom of the page? Pretty please? I'll buy you a cookie!**


	17. Edward

Chapter 16: Edward

**AN: Thanks to my reviewers. I love you all. Seriously, I do.**

"Wait here," Professor McGonagall told me, pointing to a seat in front of Dumbledore's large desk. I took a seat as she left the room. I was shaking in my robe—I knew I was about to be expelled, even though I hadn't done anything.

I looked around—there were portraits on the walls of old headmasters and headmistresses, all of whom were sleeping soundly in their frames.

Next to the desk, there was a fantastically large golden cage with a sickly looking bird inside of it. It gagged and coughed as some of its feathers fell off.

All I needed was for Dumbledore's bird to die while I was alone in his office. That will just make _everything_ better.

I looked back at the bird, and it burst into flames.

I screamed and fell out of the chair onto the ground. I couldn't believe it—I had never seen anything like that happen before.

Just then, the door opened and Dumbledore walked in.

"Sir," I gasped. "I'm so sorry—your bird—I couldn't—he just—"

Dumbledore glanced over at the cage. "Finally. I've been telling him to get a move on. He's been looking dreadful for days." I looked at him confused while he laughed. "Fawkes is a phoenix. Phoenix's burst into flames when it is time for them to die and are reborn from the ashes." I looked over and saw a small, ugly bird crawling out of the ashes left from the sick one. "It's too bad you saw him today. Normally, he's very handsome. Phoenixes are fascinating creatures. They can carry loads more than ten times their own weight, their tears have healing powers, and they are very faithful pets."

The door to the office flew open at that moment and Hagrid came running in, the dead rooster still in his hand.

"It wasn't Alice, Professor," Hagrid said quickly. "I was talkin' ter her right before that girl was found. She didn't have time—"

"Hagrid," Dumbledore said softly.

"—I know it wasn't her. I'll swear in front o' the Ministry—"

"Hagrid—"

"You have the wrong kid. I _know_ Alice—"

"_Hagrid!_" Dumbledore said loudly. Hagrid shut up. "I don't think Alice attacked anyone."

"Oh," Hagrid said, his face turning red. "I'll outside, then." He shuffled out of the office and closed the door.

"You don't?" I asked, looking at him with shocked eyes.

"No, I don't. I would still like to talk with you. I must ask you, however, if there is anything you'd like to tell me. Anything at all." His blue eyes pierced me, searching for an answer.

I didn't know what to say. I thought of Mrs. Norris hanging on the wall, petrified. I thought of the Polyjuice potion brewing in Moaning Myrtle's toilet and our plan to test it on Malfoy. I thought of me being a Parsletongue, of all the voices I was hearing around the school, and that I was somehow connected to Salazar Slytherin. I thought of Rosalie and how she was gone for periods of time and of the visions I was seeing of her. What if I really was seeing the future? What if she was in danger? What if…

"No, sir," I said. "There's nothing at all."

***

After the attack on Nick and Lauren, everyone began booking seats on the Hogwarts Express to go home. At this rate, it was only going to be me, Bella, the Weasleys, Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle. What a merry Christmas.

To be perfectly honest, I was ready for the holidays. I was tired of everyone avoiding me in the corridors like I was going to grow fangs and suck their blood.

At least Fred, George, Jasper, and Emmett were able to find it funny."Make way for the heir of Slytherin!" they would shout as I walked through the halls to class.

"This is _not_ funny," Percy said to them coldly. He didn't think it was funny.

"Oh, get out of the way," Fred said, pushing Percy to the side. "Alice is in a hurry."

"Yeah, she's off to the Chamber of Secrets to have lunch with the monster," Emmett laughed.

George insisted on wearing a necklace made of garlic any time I was near him while Jasper would ask me who I was planning to attack next. Malfoy, however, looked furious whenever this went on.

"It's because he's dying to say it's really him," Edward said in the Great Hall. "He's just mad you're getting credit for all of his dirty work."

"Well, we'll be finding out the truth soon. The potion's almost ready," Bella whispered.

"Are you sure you can't stay?" I asked him. He already had his stuff for the holidays packed and with him since the train departed in half an hour.

"I'm sorry," he apologized. "Emmett and I always have to go home—it's a family thing."

"Would it help if I begged?" Bella asked.

"That might be funny to see, but it won't work. I'll see you both after the holidays." He gave us both a hug before joining Emmett. The two of them left the Great Hall, along with most of the school. I sighed and sat down at the table next to Bella and Rosalie. We were the only ones left from Gryffindor with the exception of Rosalie's family, Jasper, and Harry Potter. Rosalie told me they had all decided to stay instead of going to Egypt to visit Bill with their parents. Jasper didn't want to go home, so he stayed. Harry, who was Ron's best friend, decided to stay at school with him.

"Cheer up, Alice," Bella said, putting her hand on top of mine.

"_Take them down to the basement with the others," a witch with short brown hair and green eyes commanded the four men holding Bella, Edward, Rosalie, and me. They started to pull us from the room. "Wait!" she called. They stopped. "All except the Mudblood." The one man passed Bella to her while the other three pulled us out of the room._

"_No!" Edward shouted, struggling with his captor. The three of us were brought to a set of stairs and were thrown down them before the door was shut and locked behind us._

_I hit the ground hard and felt my shoulder crack underneath me. Rosalie and Edward both landed on top of me._

_Edward jumped up and ran to the door, pounding on it with his fist. "Bella!" he shouted "Bella!"_

"_Edward, shut up!" Rosalie hissed. "That's not going to help anything. Alice, where are you? I can't see anything."_

"_Here," Edward said, pulling something out of his pocket. He clicked the Deluminator and the orbs of light from the tent shot out and hung in the air of the basement._

"_Alice?" someone asked. I looked over and saw Luna sitting on the ground, next to a very beat up Mr. Ollivander. Dean and Griphook were over against the other wall. "Oh no, you've been captured!"_

"_Tell me where you got this!" a voice shrieked._

"_We found it. I swear we found it!" Bella pleaded._

"_LIAR! You've been inside my Gringotts vault, haven't you? Haven't you, you filthy little Mudblood? Answer me! CRUCIO!"_

_The house was filled with Bella's screams as she was tortured upstairs. Her screams stopped a moment later._

"_Where did you get this?" the witch screamed._

"_We found it in the woods."_

"_No you didn't, you liar! You snuck into my vault and stole it. WHAT ELSE DID YOU TAKE?"_

"_I swear—"_

"_CRUCIO!"_

_Bella screamed again as Edward sobbed on the ground next to me._

I opened my eyes and saw Bella staring at me.

"What did you see?" she whispered.

"I'm not really sure," I said honestly. "We were in some house. Edward, Rosalie, and I were in the basement while you were upstairs. Some witch was torturing you. Have you ever met anyone with short brown hair and green eyes?"

She shook her head.

"I don't know what it was. All I know is that we were all in some kind of danger."

"Well, it's not really happening. Maybe it was just a dream."

"Yeah, maybe," I said, still thinking of Bella's screams. We all headed up to Gryffindor tower, where Fred, George, and Jasper played and epic game of Exploding Snap with everyone watching. I saw Harry glance my way a few times, so I gave him a small smile before heading to bed.

I pulled my pajamas on and climbed into bed, still slightly worried about all the visions I had been having lately. They all seemed to involve one of my friends in trouble. If this really was the future for us, it was looking very grim.

***

"Merry Christmas, Alice!" Bella said brightly, pulling the covers off me early the next morning.

"If it's so merry, why don't you let me sleep a little longer?" I grumbled, grabbing for my blankets.

"Oh, get up," Rosalie called. I looked over and saw her sitting by her pile of presents. I looked down at the edge of my bed and saw I had some as well.

"It's ready," Bella whispered to me.

"Are you sure?" I asked.

"Positive. I've just been there, adding more lacewing flies to it. I say we use it tonight." I nodded in agreement before climbing down to the end of my bed to start opening my presents.

From Rosalie, I got a wizard chess set with a note that said, "_Practice hard and maybe one day you'll beat me! Love, Rose._" Edward gave me a large box filled with all sorts of candy and sweets, which I planned to enjoy later. Bella got me something called a Revealer.

"What's this?" I asked her.

"It will reveal all kinds of hidden ink on paper. Could be useful." I shrugged my shoulders and opened my gift from Mrs. Weasley. There was a new sweater (this year it was red with the letter A stitched in gold), along with plenty of cherry pies.

I picked up the last gift and opened the card.

_More flattering than flowers  
Less fattening than chocolate  
Here's my heart, Rip it apart  
You'll find it's always been yours_

I opened the package that came with it and pulled out a beautiful necklace with a small blue stone that matched my eyes hanging from it.

"Alice that's beautiful!" Bella said, looking at the necklace. "Who's it from?"

"My admirer," I said.

"He sent you _that_?" Rosalie asked, shocked. I nodded. "Let me put it on," she said, jumping up and attempting to put the necklace around my neck. Her hand accidentally brushed my exposed neck.

"_Alice, what's going on?" Rosalie asked, staring at me with wide eyes._

"_I don't have time to explain," I said, grabbing the cloak out of my trunk. I saw the old pair of socks at the bottom of my trunk and grabbed the little vial out of them._

"_Here," I said, putting it in her hand._

"_Your lucky potion? I don't understand," she said, looking extremely confused."_

"_It's going to happen tonight. Don't ask me how I know, I just do. Dumbledore and I are leaving the castle and I know something's going to happen while we're gone. Send a message out to all the members of the DA. I want you to patrol to corridors to keep an eye on everything."_

"_If you're leaving, why are you giving me this?" she asked. Holding up the small vial of gold potion. "I mean, don't you think you'd need it more?"_

_I shook my head. "I'm with Dumbledore—he'll keep me safe. It's you guys I'm worried about. I want you to split that between you, Bella, and Edward. If there's any left, give it to whoever shows up."_

"_Alice, I don't understand!"_

"_Take this too," I said, handing her the Marauder's Map. "Keep an eye on Malfoy and Snape. Make sure they don't disappear at all. Rose, do you understand me?"_

"_Alice, what's going on? Why are you telling me this?"_

"_Dumbledore and I are leaving! Malfoy finally finished whatever he was doing and it's going to happen. Snape will know the protections on the school, but he won't know about you lot. Just promise me you'll take the potion and keep safe!"_

"What did you see?" Bella asked.

"Me and Rose. We were older and I was giving her some gold potion and a map. I was leaving the school with Dumbledore, and Malfoy was planning something."

"What does it mean?" Rosalie asked.

"I wish I knew. I also wish I knew who sent me this," I said, pointing to my necklace.

"It's Jasper," Bella said.

"No, it's not. When will you get this idea that he's madly in love with me out of your head?" I snapped.

"Never, since it's true. I'm telling you, he's the one who sent it to you." I sighed, picking up my presents and putting them on my bed, and hoping Bella was right about Jasper.

***

No matter how much I was dreading drinking Polyjuice potion tonight, I still enjoyed the Christmas feast at Hogwarts. Dumbledore had the Great Hall decorated with the traditional twelve Christmas trees and the ceiling had been enchanted so it snowed. Dumbledore led everyone in his favorite carols while Hagrid's face got redder and redder with each glass of eggnog he drank.

I was having such a good time, I didn't even care about the mean remarks Malfoy was making about my new sweater.

"Alice, that's a nice necklace," Jasper commented, pointing to the necklace I had received.

"Thanks," I said. "It was a gift."

"Who gave you that?" he asked, looking at me.

"My admirer," I said, blushing slightly. "He sent it to me along with a poem."

"How nice," Jasper said bitterly. I looked at him, slightly confused, before I turned back to Bella.

"Are you sure the potion's ready?" I whispered to her.

"Positive. All we need is a little bit of Crabbe and Goyle's hair so we can take on their appearance."

"Guys, are you sure this is a good idea?" Rosalie asked, looking at us. We had told her about our plan this morning. She was going to get us Slytherin robes and wait for us in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom.

"Of course we're sure," Bella whispered. "Now, hurry down to the laundry room to get some extra robes and meet us in Moaning Myrtle's toilet in 20 minutes." Rosalie ran off while Bella pulled two cakes out of her robe. "I filled them with a sleeping draught. We just need to make sure Crabbe and Goyle find them since we can't have them walking in on us while we're interrogating Malfoy."

The two of us got up from the table and walked out into the hall, waiting for Crabbe and Goyle to pass through. When we saw them, Bella levitated the two cakes. Being the greedy pigs they were, Crabbe and Goyle grabbed the cakes and stuffed them in their faces. For a few minutes, they were smiling before the potion took effect and they dropped to the floor as if they had been hit over the head with a frying pan.

"Here, let's put them in here," Bella said, pointing to a closet. We pulled the two hulking bodies over and shoved them in, grabbing a few hairs out of the back of their heads. "Grab their shoes, too," Bella said, pulling Crabbe's shoes off his feet. I grabbed Goyle's shoes before stepping out of the closet.

"Let's go," I said, pulling Bella by the robes. We ran down to Moaning Myrtle's bathroom where Rosalie was waiting for us with spare Slytherin robes.

Bella knelt by the cauldron and scooped some of the potion into two glasses.

"Here, hand me the hairs," she said, thrusting out her hand. I dropped Goyle's hairs in her empty hand and she added them to the one glass of potion. She added Crabbe's to the other glass. Both potions turned an ugly color—Goyle's was a vomit green while Crabbe's was a deep yellow. Neither looked appetizing.

"After we drink this, we'll have exactly an hour before we change back. Here, go into the other stall—we won't have enough room in here." I went over to the next stall. "Ready?" Bell called.

"One—two—three!" I pinched my nose and swallowed the whole glass. It tasted like liquidized boogies. Instantly, my stomach felt like I had live snakes crawling inside of it before a burning sensation spread from my abdomen to my fingers and toes. I looked at my arm and saw it bubbling like hot wax. My body shot up while my arms and fingers grew longer. I felt my hair getting shorter while I felt my shoes pop open from being way too small. My robes ripped. I looked down and saw I was no longer Alice Brandon.

I grabbed the extra robe Rosalie had brought and pulled it on. After, I laced up Goyle's shoes and opened the door.

"Oh my gosh!" Rosalie gasped, looking at me. "Alice, is that really you?"

"Yeah," I said, but instead of my light voice, Goyle's low rasp came from my mouth.

"Bella, are you okay in there?" Rose called.

"I'm here," she grunted in Crabbe's voice. She opened the door and I saw Crabbe standing in front of me instead of Isabella Swan.

"This is _weird_," I said, looking in the mirror.

"We should go," Bella said, straightening Crabbe's robes. "We've got less than an hour to find Malfoy."

"Good luck," Rosalie called as we walked out of Moaning Myrtle's bathroom.

"Don't swing your arms," I muttered to her. "Crabbe holds them stiff."

"Like this?" she asked.

"Yeah, that's better." We walked down the staircase and looked for someone to follow to the Slytherin common room, but nobody was there.

"The Slytherin's come up from breakfast over there," Bella said, pointing, when a girl with long black hair emerged from where her finger was.

"Excuse me," I said. "We've forgotten the way to our common room."

"Our common room?" she said, looking at us. "_I'm_ in Hufflepuff!" She looked at us suspiciously before she walked away.

Bella and I looked around, hoping to see someone, but there was no one. We were starting to get desperate when we heard a voice.

"Crabbe! Goyle! Where have you two been?" We looked over and saw Draco Malfoy glaring at us. "Have you been pigging out in the Great Hall again? I swear, one day you two are going to be wider than you are tall. Follow me." We followed Draco to the Slytherin common room and sat by the fire. "I can't believe we had to spend Christmas with the Weasleys." He shuddered as he looked at us. "You'd never know they were Pureblood with the way they behave. Especially Arthur Weasley. He loves Muggles so much, he should snap his wand in half and become one." He laughed loudly. Bella and I both forced ourselves to laugh. They sounded fake, but Malfoy seemed satisfied.

"Thank god the Cullen's weren't here. I can't stand the sight of them after everything that happened with their mother. Well, she deserved what happened to her," he sneered. I looked at Bella questioningly, but this was one question she didn't have an answer to. "What's the matter with you two?"

"Uh, stomachache Bella/Crabbe grunted. Malfoy seemed satisfied and continued.

"You know, I'm surprised the _Daily Prophet_ hasn't reported all these attacks. Dumbledore's probably trying to keep it all quiet—Father always said he was the worst thing to happen to this school. He just _loves_ Muggleborns. A good headmaster wouldn't let scum like that Stanley girl in." He mimed taking pictures. "Ooh Alice, can I have your picture? Can I get your autograph? Can I lick your shoe, Brandon?" He shook his head disgustedly. "Saint Alice Brandon, friend to Mudbloods. She's another one that'll never be a proper witch. If she was, she wouldn't go around with the blood traitors Weasley and Cullen or the Mudblood Swan. I can't believe people think she's the heir. I wish I knew who it was."

"You must have some idea who's behind it," Bella/Crabbe said.

"I already told you, Crabbe. I don't know who it is. My father won't tell me anything about the last time it was opened either. But I do know this: the last time it was opened, a girl died. Some other girl found her body, and the monster disappeared after that. Who knows, maybe the monster of Slytherin will kill someone this time, too. I hope it's a Gryffindor. Preferably Swan."

Bella looked like she was going to murder Malfoy. I looked and saw Crabbe's hair lengthening. Our time was up.

"Hair," I whispered to her. She reached up and her eyes became as large as Galleons. She grabbed my hand and pulled me out of the common room.

"_I know why he was so happy last night," Bella said, slamming the Daily Prophet on the table in front of me._

"_Good morning to you too," Edward greeted her._

"_Look," she said, pointing to the pictures on the front page. There were ten photos of different witches and wizards. I looked at the headline._

_**MASS BREAKOUT FROM AZKABAN**_

"_Fudge is going to get us all killed if he doesn't man up and face the facts that he's back," Rosalie muttered._

_I picked up the paper and stared at the one picture. I recognized her instantly—Jane Lestrange, cousin to Sirius. I looked at the bottom of the page where there was a smaller article, reporting on the death of inmate Elizabeth Cullen._

"_Edward, isn't Elizabeth Cullen your mother?"_

"_Yes."_

"_Well, it says here she was in Azkaban, but that can't be right, can it?"_

"Alice. _Alice!_" Bella shouted, shaking me. I looked up and saw we were back in Moaning Myrtle's toilet. "What did you see?"

"Us at breakfast—we need to talk to Edward when he gets back!"

"Why?"

"We just do, okay?"

"What happened with Malfoy?" Rosalie asked, looking at the two of us.

"It's not him," Bella said. "I was sure it was."

"Well, we'll catch them eventually," I said. I looked over at Rosalie and saw she looked pale.

***

"It's not Malfoy?" Edward asked once the holidays were over.

"No."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive," I said. "Hey, Edward," I said, changing the subject, "I had another vision over the holidays with you."

"Really?" he asked.

"I have a question."

"Okay."

"Why do you live with your grandparents?"

He looked shocked—he had not been expecting that.

"My father's dead, and my mother might as well be."

"Why? What happened to your mother?"

"She's in Azkaban."

"Azkaban?" Bella gasped. "As in, wizard prison?"

He nodded. "Lane Lestrange tortured and murdered my father after You-Know-Who fell for information to try and bring him back. After that, my mother lost it. Jane was already in prison, but she wasn't satisfied. Jane had taken away the most important person to her, so she felt she was entitled to one of Jane's family members."

"What happened?" Bella asked.

"She went after Jane's sister."

"She has a sister?"

"Irina Malfoy. She went to their mansion and tortured her until Lucius Malfoy came in and stunned her. He claimed she went after Irina for no reason, but she had a reason. Irina was there when Jane killed my father. She watched him be tortured and die, but did nothing to stop it."

I gasped as tears fell from Bella's eyes.

"Edward, I'm so sorry," I said. "I never knew."

"That's where I go every Christmas. Emmett and I visit her in prison with Carlisle and Esme."

Bella and I nodded as we wiped away the tears from our cheeks.

**Gahh, sorry I haven't updated in forever. I just honestly haven't had time to write with school starting and everything. I'm trying my best to work on this, my other story, school, and work. Please forgive me!**


	18. AM Voltri

Chapter 17: A.M. Voltri

**AN: Thank you to all my lovelies who review. You rock!**

A few weeks after we returned from the holidays, Quidditch practices started up again. Wood was training us from sunup to sundown on the weekends. He wanted us in perfect shape for the next match so we would be a shoe-in to win the cup.

Even though the whole school thought I was Salazar Slytherin's great-great-great-great granddaughter, everyone on the team took it as a joke. Wood kept saying it would be easy for me to catch the Snitch since everyone was so afraid I'd petrify them if they came within 12 feet of me.

"Good practice, everyone," Wood said as we all made our way to the team room to change. Angelina walked with me, talking about her trip to Spain over the holidays.

"I have some good news for you," she said as she took off her wet robes.

"What's that?" I asked.

"Jasper and Katie? Finito."

"Really?" I asked.

She nodded. "According to my friend Alicia, they got into a big fight last week. Something about a Christmas gift. Anyways, she dumped him, so your man is single now."

"Angelina, he is not 'my' man," I said, my cheeks burning.

"Whatever," she said, rolling her eyes at me before running to catch up with Fred and George before they left.

"Alice?" a voice asked. I looked up and saw Jasper looking down at me. I felt my cheeks turning redder by the second as his blue eyes swept over my body.

"Oh, uh, hi," I stammered.

"Do you want to walk back to the castle with me?" he asked. I nodded before grabbing my bag. The two of us walked in silence for a minute before I broke the silence.

"I'm sorry about you and Katie."

He smiled at me. "Eh, it's okay. I guess things weren't meant to be. I always knew we weren't exactly right for each other. I guess I'm supposed to be with another girl."

Me.

"Anyways, have you found out who's been sending you those love letters?" he asked. I shook my head as we entered the castle. "Well, he's a fool for waiting this long to ask you out." He bent down and kissed me on the cheek.

"_Ugh, this is useless," I said, throwing the book I was reading across the room._

"_I guess you didn't like that one," Jasper laughed, looking up from his book. _

"_There's nothing in any of these books," I whined. _

"_They can't have made a task that's undoable," Bella reminded me._

"_Well, they have. There's nothing in any of these books about breathing underwater."_

"_There has to be something," Rosalie said, sitting in Emmett's lap._

"_Don't either of you know anything?" Edward asked Emmett and Jasper. "You are sixth years, after all."_

"_Why are you asking him?" Rosalie laughed, rubbing Emmett's shoulder. "He only got 3 O.W.L.s."_

"_Oh, yeah. What about you, Jasper?"_

_Jasper shrugged his shoulders. "This is why I am not in the tournament."_

_I sighed and put my head down on the table. This was hopeless—I was going to show up at the lake tomorrow with no idea how to complete the task._

"_Hey Fred," Jasper said as Fred walked into the library._

"_McGonagall wants to see you in her office. You too, Bella."_

"_Did she say why?" Jasper asked. He shook his head. "Okay. I'll be back as soon as I can. Why don't you all bring these books back to the common room, and Bella and I will meet you there." He bent down and kissed me lightly on the lips._

"Alice! Alice!" someone was shouting, shaking my shoulders. I opened my eyes and saw Edward standing in front of me.

"What?"

"You were having another vision."

"I know."

"What did you see?"

I thought back to the vision—Rosalie sitting on Emmett's lap, Jasper kissing me goodbye, and something about a tournament. "Nothing important. What are you doing here?"

"I was waiting for you to get done with practice. I need to show you something." The two of us ran back up to the Gryffindor common room, where Bella was sitting by the fire with a book in her lap.

"What is that?" I asked her.

"It's a diary. Edward and I found it in Moaning Myrtle's toilet today. Someone tried to get rid of it."

I held my hands out, and she gave it to me. The diary was worn and seemed to be falling apart. I looked at the bottom of the cover and saw "A. M. Voltri" printed there in gold. "Who's A.M. Voltri?" I asked, pointing to the name.

"I recognize the name," Edward said, thinking. "Oh yeah. He got an award for special services to the school fifty years ago."

"How on earth did you know that?" Bella asked, looking at him, impressed.

"That was the award I burped slugs all over. Filch made me polish that stupid thing a hundred times. You would remember the name if you spent an hour wiping slime off it."

I opened the book and started to look through the pages, but there was nothing on them.

"Don't waste your time—there's nothing written there," Edward said. "I said we should toss it, but Bella thought it would be a good idea to keep it. Who knows what goes on in that head of hers."

"I'm right here, thank you very much," she snapped at Edward. "Alice, do you still have the Revealer I gave you for Christmas?" I nodded. "Go and get it. I have an idea." I ran up to my dorm and grabbed the eraser thing Bella had given me and brought it back to her. She took the Revealer and rubbed hard all over the front page. Nothing happened.

She reached into her bag and pulled out her wand. "_Aparecium!_" she said, tapping the diary. Nothing happened.

"There's nothing to find in there," Edward sighed. "Voltri just got a diary for Christmas and never wrote in it." Bella sighed and put the diary on the table before heading up for bed. I took it and put it in my bag. Something about it seemed strange, and I wanted to find out what.

***

There was something about A.M. Voltri that intrigued me. I couldn't put my finger on it, but he seemed like a friend I had forgotten about. I wanted to find out more about him, so the next day, Bella, Edward, and I went to the trophy room to see his award.

His gold shield didn't say what he did to get the award, which Edward said was good, otherwise he'd still be polishing it.

"Look, he's on this list of old Head Boys," Bella said, pointing to a list of names.

"He sounds like Percy," Edward said. "Prefect, Head Boy, probably top of every class…"

"You say that like it's a bad thing," Bella said, looking hurt. Edward shrugged his shoulders and we headed down to breakfast.

Everyone seemed much more cheerful. There had been no more attacks since the double one on Lauren and Nearly-Headless Nick. I overheard Professor Sprout telling Filch that the Mandrakes were almost ready for repotting. "Then we can chop them up and stew them. Mrs. Norris will be back to normal in no time."

I wondered why there hadn't been any more attacks. Maybe the heir had lost his or her nerve. Maybe they sent the monster back into the chamber to hide for fifty more years.

Cho Chang, however, did not agree with me. She was convinced I had given myself away at the dueling club, and that was the only reason the attacks had stopped. It didn't help that Peeves followed me around, singing "Oh, Alice, you malice…" with a matching dance routine.

"I don't think we have to worry about anymore attacks," Lockhart told Professor McGonagall one day. "I think the culprit knew it was only a matter of time before I discovered who they were. Sensible on their part. You know what the school needs? A morale booster! Something to wash away the bad memories from last term. I have just the idea…"

The next morning, I found out what Lockhart meant. When Edward, Bella, Rosalie (who had decided to grace us with her presence), and I walked into the Greta Hall, I thought we had the wrong room at first. The walls were covering in huge, pink flowers and heart-shaped confetti was falling from the ceiling. Edward looked like he was going to vomit while Bella started giggling.

"Happy Valentine's Day!" Lockhart shouted from the staff's table. I saw he was in bright pink robes, and I had to fight hard to suppress my gag reflex. "I'd like to thank the forty-six people who sent me cards already. I have taken the liberty to arrange a surprise for you all—and the fun doesn't stop here! My card-carrying cupids," he said, pointing a group of dwarves dressed like cherubs, "Will be roaming the corridors delivering your valentines. I'm sure my colleagues want to get in on the fun too! Why not ask Professor Snape to whip up a love potion. Or ask Professor Flitwick about Entrancing Enchantments!"

Professor Flitwick buried his face in his hands while Snape looked as if the first person to ask him to make a love potion would be force-fed poison.

During the day, the dwarves kept interrupting classes, delivering the valentines. Professor McGonagall broke her quill in half when one came into our Transfiguration class. When Bella, Edward, and Rosalie were heading to Charms, one caught up with me.

"Alice Brandon!" it called. There were tons of people around, including Jasper, Fred, George, and Emmett. This was _just_ what I needed.

"Not here!" I hissed.

"I've got a musical valentine to deliver to Alice Brandon," he said.

"Later!"

"Sit down," he said, grabbing my bag, causing it to rip. My ink bottle broke, drenching everything in scarlet ink. I crawled on the floor trying to pick up everything before dwarf started singing.

"What's going on here?" a cold voice drawled. Draco Malfoy, along with Crabbe and Goyle, strolled into the corridor. When he saw me on the ground, being held captive by the dwarf, a huge smirk spread across his face.

"Right, here's your singing valentine:

_Her eyes are as blue as the great big sea,  
Her hair is as dark as a blackboard.  
I wish she was mine, she's really divine,  
The girl who conquered the Dark Lord._

It felt like my cheeks were as red as Ron Weasley's hair. I sat on the ground, unable to move from embarrassment. Edward, Bella, and Rosalie were looking at me, trying not to laugh.

"Okay, move along," Percy Weasley said, trying to disperse the crowd. "And you, Malfoy—"

I looked over at Malfoy and saw he was holding Voltri's diary. "Give that back," I said quietly.

"Who wants to see what Brandon's written in this?" Malfoy said, holding up the diary. He thought it was mine—he hadn't seen the name or year on the cover. What an idiot.

"Hand it over," Percy said, holding out his hands for the diary. Rosalie was glancing at Malfoy, looking terrified.

"I will once I've had a look," Malfoy sneered, waving the diary around.

"As school Prefect—" Percy said, but I cut him off.

I pointed my wand at Malfoy and cried, "_Expelliarmus!_" causing the diary to fly into the air and land in my hands. Edward gave me a thumbs up while Bella, who was standing next to Ron and Harry, laughed at Malfoy's furious face.

As we started heading to class, Malfoy looked straight at Harry. "I don't think Brandon liked your valentine, Potter." Harry's face turned bright red as his eyes met mine. He spun around and ran in the other direction.

Harry? _Harry_ was my secret admirer? Harry Potter sent me a necklace for Christmas? I looked over at Bella and saw my shock mirrored on her face—she was as confused as me.

When I sat down in Professor Flitwick's classroom and took out my books, I noticed something strange. Everything in my (now split) bag was covered in ink—with the exception of A.M. Voltri's diary. I tried telling Bella, but she was too engrossed in the lecture to listen to me.

***

Later that night, I decided to head to my dorm early. Bella and Edward were bickering, like usual, Percy was bullying Rosalie into taking some Pepperup potion since she looked pale, and Fred, George, and Emmett kept serenading me with Harry's valentine. I didn't see Harry, so I couldn't ask him about it.

When I was alone in the room, I pulled out Voltri's diary. Every single page was completely blank without a trace of ink, even though the entire book had been submerged in it. Curious, I pulled out a quill and a new bottle of ink, dipped the quill in the ink, and drew a line on the first page. It shone for a moment before disappearing.

I dipped the quill in the ink again and wrote, "My name is Alice Brandon," on the page. They too shone before disappearing. Unlike last time, however, something else happened. A new set of words appeared on the page.

_Hello, Alice Brandon. My name is Aro Voltri. How did you come across my diary?_

What was going on? How was a diary writing back to me? I dipped the quill in the ink a third time. "Someone tried to get rid of it by flushing it down a toilet."

_Good think I recorded my memories in something more lasting than ink. I always knew there would be those who did not want this diary read._

"What do you mean?"

_I mean this diary holds the memories of terrible things. Things that were covered up at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry._

"That's where I am now," I wrote quickly, my handwriting getting messier by the second. "Horrible things have been happening. Can you tell me anything about the Chamber of Secrets?"

_No_.

Damn. What use was he if he didn't know anything about the Chamber? I looked down at the page and saw a new line of words had appeared.

_I can show you._

Show me? The pages of the diary started turning until it was at June 13th. There, a tiny square appeared on the page. I leaned forward and felt my body leave the bed. It felt like I was falling through air until I reached the ground. I stood up and looked around. I knew where I was.

I was in Dumbledore's office—except another wizard was sitting behind the desk. On older wizard was looking down at a piece of paper, paying no attention to me. In front of him sat a boy, who looked about 16.

"Sorry," I said apologetically. Neither one paid any attention to me. "SORRY!" I shouted. Still nothing.

"I'm sorry, Aro, but I simply cannot let you stay here for the summer holidays. Surely you want to go home?"

"No, sir," Aro said. "I'd much rather stay at Hogwarts than go back _there_," he said bitterly.

"You live at a Muggle orphanage, don't you?"

"Yes, sir," Aro said, his cheeks reddening. I understood—I would rather stay at Hogwarts than go back to River Way.

"You're Muggleborn?"

"Half-blood. Witch mother, Muggle father."

"And your parents are—"

"My mother died shortly after I was born. They told me she lived long enough to name me—Aro after my father, Moddlem after my grandfather."

The headmaster nodded sympathetically. "You see, Aro, special arrangements could be made, but in the current climate…"

"You mean all the attacks, Professor Dippet?"

"Exactly. Especially in light of the recent tragedy—the death of that poor girl. In fact, the Ministry is even talking about closing the school."

Aro's eyes widened. "Close the school?"

"Surely. We are no closer to locating the culprit than we were 3 months ago."

"Sir, if the person was caught—if the attacks stopped—"

"What do you mean? Is there something you'd like to tell me, Aro?" Dippet asked, looking at Aro Voltri.

"No, sir." I knew it was the same kind of 'no' I had given Dumbledore.

Dippet looked disappointed. "You may go, Aro."

Aro slid out of the chair and walked down the spiral staircase that led to the headmaster's office. I followed him, and the two of us walked through Hogwarts.

"What are you doing out so late, Aro?" a familiar voice asked. I spun around and saw Dumbledore, 50 years younger, staring at Aro.

"I had to see the headmaster, Professor."

"Well, hurry off to bed. It's not safe to be wandering the corridors, especially in the present time." Dumbledore stared at Aro with the blue eyes I knew so well. Dumbledore strolled away. Once he was out of sight, Aro headed down the stairs to the dungeons with me following him.

Instead of going to a secret passageway, he went into the same dungeon I had potions in. He stood in the room, waiting for something. We stood there for awhile before I heard something creak. I saw someone pass by the door, and Aro left the room, following the mystery person.

Whoever it was disappeared inside a kind of closet, and Aro followed him in. I heard a whisper.

"C'mon…gotta get yeh outta here…C'mon…get in the box…"

Something about that voice seemed very familiar…

"Good evening, Rubeus," Aro said, walking into the room. The boy jumped to the side, looking terrified.

"What are yeh doin' here?"

"It's over. I have to turn you in, Rubeus. They're talking about closing the school if the attacks don't stop."

"What d'yeh—"

"I don't think you ever meant to kill anyone, but monsters don't make very good pets."

"Aragog never killed no one!" I heard a clicking noise coming from the box. It made me very nervous.

"Come now, Rubeus. The dead girl's parents will be here tomorrow. The least Hogwarts can do is make sure the thing that killed their daughter is destroyed."

"No!" Rubeus cried, jumping in front of the box.

"Stand aside!" Aro pulled out his wand and cast a spell I had never heard before. The box flew into the air and the creature fell out, running out of the room and into the corridor. Aro cast more spells after it while the boy cried behind him. I felt myself being pulled backwards. When I opened my eyes, I was sitting on my bed again.

Before I could catch my breath, the door opened and Bella walked in.

"…you'd think I was a library, the way he treats me!" she said, throwing her bag on the ground. "What's the matter?" she asked, taking in my pale face.

"It was Hagrid," I whispered. "Hagrid opened the Chamber of Secrets fifty years ago."

***

"Is it possible Aro could have got the wrong guy?" Bella asked the next day. "I mean, could he have made a mistake?"

"Bella, how many monsters do you think there are at Hogwarts? Anyways, we always knew Hagrid had been expelled. The attacks must have stopped after Aro turned him in. Otherwise, he wouldn't have gotten the award."

"He does sound a lot like Percy," Edward said. "I mean, who asked him to tattle on Hagrid, anyways?"

"A girl _died_, Edward," Bella said. "They were talking about closing the school."

"Aro was going to have to go back to that Muggle orphanage. I don't blame him for wanting to stay here at the school."

"Well, Hagrid has always had a liking for dangerous creatures. You remember Norbert and Fluffy?" Bella said.

"Don't remind me," Edward groaned.

"Maybe we should just ask Hagrid," Bella suggested.

"Oh, that would be a pleasant conversation. 'Hello, Hagrid. Tell us—have you been setting anything hairy loose in the castle lately?' I'm sure he'd _love_ to discuss that with us," Edward said.

"Well, there haven't been any attacks for awhile. Let's not say anything unless there's another attack," I suggested.

"Good plan."

More days passed with no whispers from the disembodied voices. Professor Sprout told us the Mandrakes would soon be ready to make the potion and revive those petrified. Peeves got tired of his song and dance, and Cho asked me a question during Transfiguration.

I was having another problem. I wanted to talk to Harry about the valentine and secret admirer notes, but every time he saw me, he went the opposite direction. If I entered the common room, he went into his dorm. At this rate, I was never going to find out if it really was him sending all those notes.

Once Easter came, we were given a new thing to think about besides the fact that Hagrid was possibly the heir of Slytherin.

Subjects for third year. I could have cared less, but Bella was panicking.

"These subjects could affect our whole lives!"

"I don't care what I take as long as I give up potions," I said, glancing at the subject list.

"We can't," Edward said glumly, "Or I would have given up Defense Against the Dark Arts."

"But that's very important!" Bella said.

"Not the way Lockhart teaches it. The only thing I've learned is not to set pixies loose."

Rosalie didn't seem to care, and ended up just signing up for the same subjects as Edward and I. At least if we were miserable, we'd be miserable together. Bella signed up for everything.

***

After the break, I barely had time to breathe. I was either doing homework, going to lessons, or practicing for the final Quidditch match against Hufflepuff. After the last practice, I was confident we would win the cup this year.

Fred and George walked with me back to the pitch—Jasper hadn't been as friendly to me since the Harry Potter valentine incident.

"I can't wait until this match is over," Fred groaned. "Then I'll finally have my life back."

"I know. Wood's back in fanatic mode," George said.

"So, how is our favorite chalkboard-haired girl doing?" Fred laughed.

"Shut up," I said, shoving him. He grabbed my hand.

_Fred and George were standing in front of Emmett, their arms crossed. They both had angry expressions on their faces._

"_So, you think it's okay to sneak around with your best friends' sister—"_

"_Younger sister!"_

"_Yeah, younger sister, without asking their permission first?"_

"_I'm sorry!" Emmett shouted, throwing his hands in the air. "She didn't want me to tell anyone, especially you two."_

"_This isn't about her!" Fred yelled. "This is about you and us. You're our best friend, Emmett, but you've crossed the line."_

"_Yeah. It's one thing dating a girl one of us fancies. But dating our baby sister…"_

"_Look, I'm sorry you had to find out that way. I wanted to tell you, but she was terrified about what you guys would do."_

_Fred and George sighed. "Well, if anyone would date her, we'd pick you."_

"_But know if you break her heart, we'll break your neck."_

"_Into several pieces."_

I opened my eyes and felt myself moving, but I wasn't walking. I looked next to me and saw that Fred was carrying me up the stairs to the Gryffindor common room.

"What are you doing?" I hissed.

"You zoned out back there, and it was getting dark. We weren't just going to _leave_ you there," George said, insulted. I sighed as he carried me back to the portrait, then set me down before we climbed through. I was feeling annoyed at the twins until Hermione Granger ran towards me.

"Alice! I don't know who did it—you have to come see—"

I followed her up the stairs to our dormitory, and found the room in disarray. Everything was thrown everywhere. I saw a few pages from my copy of _Year with the Yeti_ on the ground. The sheets from my bed had been ripped off and thrown on the ground.

Bella walked in and gasped. "What happened?"

"Someone was obviously looking for something," Hermione said, leaving the room.

"Is anything missing?" Bella asked.

"Aro's diary," I said sadly.

"_What_?"

"It's gone. I don't see it anywhere."

"But only a Gryffindor could have gotten in—"

"I know."

***

"Perfect Quidditch weather!" Wood exclaimed the next morning at breakfast. I sat at the table, wondering who had Aro's diary.

"Alice, report it," Bella urged.

I shook my head. "It'll just bring all that stuff up from fifty years ago. I don't want everyone knowing about Hagrid."

Edward nodded, and went back to eating.

At 10:30, Bella, Edward, and I left the Great Hall to get my Quidditch shings when I heard it again.

"_Rip…tear…let me kill…_"

"The voice!" I shouted. "Don't you hear it?"

Bella's eyes bulged open. "Alice, I think I understand—I have to go to the library!" She sprinted up the stairs.

"What does she understand?" I asked Edward.

"A lot more than I do."

I stood there, confused, when Edward brought me back to reality. "Quidditch," he reminded me. The two of us headed down to the pitch where I joined the rest of the team in the team room. I pulled on my robe and walked onto the pitch with the rest of the team to the applause in the stands. I saw Harry, sitting in the front row. He turned red when he saw me looking at him and turned to talk to Ron. I didn't see Rosalie anywhere in the stands.

Oliver and Milton Prescott, the Hufflepuff captain, were shaking hands when Professor McGonagall marched onto the field with a megaphone in her hand. "The match has been cancelled," she said. "All students are to report to their common rooms and wait for further instructions from their heads of household."

My heart sunk when she said that. Who had been attacked now?

She walked over to me. "Miss Brandon, I think you better come with me." She couldn't possibly think it was me this time—I had been outside when this new attack happened. Edward ran over to us as we were heading into the castle. She didn't object. "Yes, you'd better come too, Mr. Cullen."

She led us into the hospital wing. "This will come as a shock. There has been another attack—a _double_ attack." She pulled the curtain away to show us the two stiff bodies.

"Bella!" we cried. Bella was lying on the bed, her wavy brown hair framed around her face, a look of shock on her face. Next to her was the Hufflepuff girl Bella and I had asked for directions when we were impersonating Crabbe and Goyle.

"This was found next to them," McGonagall said, holding up a small mirror. "Does it mean anything to either of you?"

We shook our heads.

She sighed. "I will escort you back to Gryffindor tower. I need to address the students anyways."

Once we made it back to the common room, Edward and I took a seat next to Rosalie. She was paler than I had ever seen her, and she looked like she was going to cry.

"All students will be in their house common rooms by six o'clock, no exceptions. From this point forward, there will be no more Quidditch. All teachers will escort students to their classes. No one is to be wandering the corridors at night."

I looked in the corner and saw Percy sitting there, not speaking.

"He's in shock," Fred told me. "That other girl who was attacked—Emily Call—she was a Prefect. He didn't think the monster would attack Prefects."

"What are we going to do?" Edward asked. "Do you think they know about Hagrid?"

"We need to talk to him."

"But how?" he asked. "You heard McGonagall. We can't be seen wandering the corridors!"

"Exactly. We can't be _seen_."

"You mean—?"

"Yep. I'll be right back." I ran upstairs and pulled my father's Invisibility cloak out of my trunk before going back downstairs. Edward and I headed up to the boy's dormitory so we could slip to cloak over ourselves and head out of the portrait.

I had never seen the corridors so crowded after dark. There were teachers, ghosts, and prefects patrolling them, making sure no students were out. The cloak didn't stop us from making noise, and we were lucky Snape sneezed at the same exact moment Edward swore after studding his toe.

We hurried outside and down the path to Hagrid's hut. When we got there, I pounded on the door. The door flew open, and Hagrid stood there, holding a crossbow.

"Who's there?" he shouted. We pulled off the cloak. "Oh, it's yeh two. What are yeh doin' here?" he said, lowering the weapon.

"What's that for?" Edward asked, pointing at the crossbow.

"Nuthin', nuthin'—just bin expectin'—nevermind. How about some tea?"

Hagrid tried to make tea, but he could barely control his movements. His hand was jerking so badly he dropped the teapot right next to Edward's foot when he tried to pour him a cup.

"Hagrid, are you okay? Did you hear about Bella?" I asked.

"I heard," he said, his voice breaking. He kept glancing at the door like he was waiting for someone. He poured us a cup of water (with no tea bags) and was cutting some fruitcake when there was a knock at the door. He threw the Invisibility Cloak over us and shoved us in the corner before opening the door.

"Good evening, Hagrid," Dumbledore said, walking into the cabin. There was a short man in a green bowler who followed him in.

"That's Cornelius Fudge, the Minister of Magic!" Edward hissed. I elbowed him in the ribs to shut up.

Hagrid looked as pale as Rosalie had been looking.

"Bad business, Hagrid. Four attacks on Muggleborns. Things have gone far enough—the Ministry's got to act."

"I never," Hagrid said, looking around wildly. "Professor Dumbledore, you know I—"

"I want it understood," Dumbledore said, cutting Hagrid off, "That Hagrid has my full confidence." He looked at Fudge with his piercing gaze.

Fudge shifted where he stood. "Look, Dumbledore, Hagrid's record is against him. The Ministry has to do something—the school governors—"

"I will tell you again, Cornelius, taking Hagrid away will not help at all."

"I've got to do something," Fudge spluttered. "If it turns out Hagrid wasn't to blame, he will be returned with a full apology. For now, we have to take him."

"Take me? Not Azkaban!"

There was another knock at the door. Edward elbowed me this time when Lucius Malfoy strolled in.

"Already here, Fudge. Good."

"What are yeh doin' here? Get outta my house!" Hagrid roared at Mr. Malfoy.

"Believe me, I have no pleasure being in your—you call this a house? I only came because I was told I could find the headmaster here."

"How may I help you, Lucius?" Dumbledore asked politely, but I could see a fire in his eyes.

"Dreadful things," Mr. Malfoy said, pulling a piece of paper out of his coat, "But the governors feel you've lost your touch. This is an Order of Suspension—you'll find all twelve signatures."

"See here, Lucius—Dumbledore suspended? No, no. That's the last thing we'd want to do." If Dumbledore can't stop them, who can? Fudge said, looking alarmed.

"If the governors want my removal, I shall step aside. However, you will find that I will have only truly left the school when none here are loyal to me, and that help at Hogwarts will always be given to those who ask for it." He turned to the corner where Edward and I were and winked

Both our mouths dropped open at the same time.

Dumbledore and Lucius strode outside.

"If anyone wanted ter find out anythin', all they'd have ter do is follow the spiders. Oh, and someone'll have to feed Fang while I'm away." Hagrid and the Minister left, leaving us alone with Fang in the cabin.

"No Dumbledore? We're in trouble now—there'll be an attack a day with him gone. They might as well close the school now," Edward groaned.

"What are we supposed to do about it?" I asked.

"Well, we could always listen to Hagrid," Edward suggested.

"You mean—?"

"Yep. Let's follow the spiders."


	19. Follow the Spiders

Chapter 18: Follow the Spiders

**AN: To all my reviewers and readers—I heart you all.**

"How are we supposed to follow the spiders?" I asked Edward. "There are no spiders here."

"Yes there are," Edward whispered, pointing to the ground. He was pressed up against the opposite wall, trying to get as far away from them as possible. I crouched down to the floor and saw the spiders were heading towards the Forbidden Forest.

"Here, let's take Fang with us," I said, grabbing Hagrid's dog and heading out of the cabin. It was pitch black, so I pulled out my wand and murmured "_Lumos._"

"Good idea," Edward said. "I'd light mine, but it'd probably blow up."

"Yeah, probably." The two of us started heading towards the forest. I heard Edward whimpering behind me. The last thing he wanted to do was follow the spiders.

"Why did it have to be follow the spiders? Why couldn't it be follow the bunny rabbits? Or the butterflies?"

"Would you shut up?" I said as we entered the forest. I pointed my want at the ground and saw a group of small spiders scurrying down a path. I motioned for Edward to follow me, and the two of us walked behind the spiders, not speaking. I pulled Fang along with us. We walked for 20 minutes before the spiders went to the left—off the path.

"What are we supposed to do know?" Edward whimpered. I thought—Hagrid had said to always stay on the path in the Forbidden Forest. He had also said to follow the spiders. Now, he was sitting in a cell in Azkaban.

"Well, we've come this far," I said. "We might as well." The three of us left the path and followed the spiders deeper into the forest. I kept the light from my wand on them so we wouldn't lose them and end up lost in the forest.

I kept tripping over the branches I couldn't see, so Edward kept his hand on my back to make sure I didn't fall over. We had been walking for about 30 minutes when Fang let out a loud howl, causing me to jump into the air and fall back into Edward.

"What was that?" Edward hissed, sounding terrified.

"Something's over there," I whispered. "Something big…"

"Oh no. Oh no oh no oh no…"

"Shut up!" I hissed. "It'll hear you!"

"Hear _me_? It already heard Fang!" Edward said, his voice rising three octaves. The two of us back up, pulling Fang by his collar. Whatever it was, it hadn't charged yet.

"What do you think it's doing?" I asked.

"Probably getting ready to attack!"

We stood on the path, shaking, when a pair of bright lights fell on us and something charged toward us. I screamed and jumped into Edward's arms. Edward was yelling at the top of his lungs while Fang dove into the trees.

I had my eyes covered and was in Edwards arms when I heard him breathe a sigh of relief. "Alice, look!"

I opened my eyes and looked at what had just come into the clearing. It was the Weasley's Ford Anglia, turned wild by the Forbidden Forest.

"I can't believe it!" I gasped, walking towards the car. "We wondered what happened to it—looks like it's been in here the whole time."

"And we thought it was going to attack us!" Edward laughed. I bent down and picked my wand up off the ground. Unfortunately, due to the car, we had lost the trail of spiders.

"Edward, the spiders are gone. C'mon, let's go look for—" I was cut off by a furry leg grabbing me around my ankle and hoisting me into the air.

"Alice?" came Edward's terrified voice.

"Yeah?"

"I think we found them."

Edward, Fang, and I were carried through the forest until we stopped somewhere. I heard clicking all around us. This could not turn out well for us.

I was being held upside down by the creature's pincers. Edward, hanging next to me, looked like he was about to faint. I could tell, even in the dark, his face was as white as a ghost. Fang was howling loudly and trying to break free. Unfortunately for him, the thing holding him was stronger than he was.

I looked around the clearing—there were spiders everywhere. Not small spiders like the ones we followed, but huge, massive, gigantic spiders that looked like they could devour a fully-grown man in a matter of seconds.

I fell to the ground as the spider dropped me. I felt a crunch as I landed on my wrist. Great—I probably broke it again. I heard a thud next to me and realized Edward's spider must have dropped him too.

I looked over at Edward and saw he looked like he was going to scream, but there was no voice left inside of him.

"Aragog!" the spider behind me clicked. "Aragog!"

If Edward looked scared before, he looked beyond terrified at this point. From behind a large web, a gigantic spider emerged. He was black with gray hairs on his long legs. His body was about the size of an elephant, and each of his eyes was milky white—he was blind.

"Who is it?" the old spider clicked.

"Humans."

"Is it Hagrid?" Aragog asked, his many eyes roaming.

"No. They are strangers," the spider who brought Edward clicked through his pincers.

"Kill them." My heart dropped into my stomach as the spiders closed in on us. "I was sleeping," Aragog said, walking back to his web.

"Wait!" I shouted, finally regaining the use of my voice. "We're friends of Hagrid's!"

Aragog stopped where he was and turned around. "Hagrid has never sent other humans here before."

"That's because he couldn't come himself. Hagrid's in trouble!"

"Trouble?" Aragog clicked. "But why would he send you? You are just children. How can you possibly help him?"

I tried to get up, but I saw a large gash on my right leg, and decided against it. "Up at the school, terrible things have been happening. Something is attacking the students, and they think Hagrid is behind it. They've sent him to Azkaban!"

Aragog clicked his pincers angrily. "That was years ago! I remember it clearly—that's why they made him leave the school. They believed _I_ was the creature which dwells in the place they call the Chamber of Secrets, and that Hagrid had released me."

"Well, aren't you?" Edward asked.

"I?" Aragog said furiously. "I am not from the castle. I was born in a distant land, far away from Hogwarts. A traveler gave me to Hagrid when I was just an egg, and he raised me. He brought me into the castle in a box and fed me scraps from the table. Hagrid is my good friend, and a good man. When they discovered me and blamed me for the death of that girl, he brought me here. I have lived here ever since, and Hagrid still visits me. He even found me a wife, and our family has grown, all because of Hagrid."

"So…you never attacked anyone?" I asked, using all the courage I had to speak.

"Never. It is in my instincts to, but I never harmed anyone out of respect for Hagrid. I never harmed a human. The girl who died was found in a bathroom—I never saw any part of the castle except the cupboard where I was kept. Our kind like the dark…"

"Then what _did_ kill the girl?" Edward asked.

"The thing that lives in the castle is an ancient creature we spiders fear above all. I remember pleading with Hagrid to let me go when I felt the beast's presence."

"What is it?" I asked urgently.

I heard all the spiders click their pincers together. "We do not speak of it!" Aragog said. "We do not name it! I would not even tell Hagrid the name, even though he pressed me for it."

I didn't want to ask anymore, not with the spiders moving closer on all sides with hungry looks in their eyes. Aragog, seeming bored with the conversation, started backing up towards his web, allowing the rest of his family to move closer.

"We'll just go then," I called desperately.

"Go?" Aragog called. "I think not…"

"But—but—"

"My children do not harm Hagrid, on my command. However, I cannot deny them fresh meat, especially when it wanders so willingly into our mist and smells so mouthwatering. Goodbye, friends of Hagrid."

The spiders, clicking away rapidly, started moving closer and closer to us. This was it. This was the end. I didn't bother reaching for my wand—it wouldn't do any good. As I prepared to die, I heard a crash and a bright light filled the clearing.

Mr. Weasley's car came barreling through the trees and stopped in front of us, knocking the closest spiders out of the way. The doors flew open, and Edward grabbled my hand, pulling Fang and I into the car.

"_What happened?" I asked as Bella and I ran into Edward, Rosalie, Harry, Luna, and Jasper. "How did you guys get free?"_

"_Pulled out some sweets and told them I was hungry. They told me to piss off and ate them all. They're all inside her office, puking their guts out." Jasper smirked. "What happened to Umbridge?"_

"_Bella pawned her off to some centaurs in the forest," I said. Bella blushed as Edward looked at her like she was a goddess._

"_Alice, you're bleeding!" Jasper said, coming up next to me. _

_I looked down at my arm and saw a streak of blood. "Oh, it's not me. It's from Grawp."_

"_So, what's the plan?" Harry asked. "What are we doing?"_

"_We? There is no we. There is just me, Bella, Edward, and Rosalie."_

"_I thought the DA was about doing something real," Luna said. "Unless you were just making it up."_

"_You don't have to do everything alone, Alice," Bella whispered to me. "You can ask for help once in a while."_

I felt myself being thrown into the air and I landed on the ground. I looked around and saw we were out of the forest and back by Hagrid's hut. Edward was next to me while Fang sprinted into Hagrid's hut. I got up and went inside to get the Invisibility Cloak. When I came back outside, Edward was throwing up in the pumpkin patch.

"Follow the spiders," he said weakly. "I'll never forgive Hagrid. He had better hope he stays in Azkaban because next time I see him, I'll kill him! What was the point of sending us into there? What did we even find out?"

"That Hagrid never opened the Chamber of Secrets," I said quietly. "He was innocent."

"Innocent? You call raising that monster _innocent_?"

I didn't say anything as I threw the cloak over the two of us. We made our way back up to the castle and into the Gryffindor common room. The entire way up, I kept thinking about what Aragog had told us. He had never seen the girl because Hagrid kept him in a cupboard, and she died in a bathroom.

"Edward!" I said, grabbing his robes to stop him."Edward—that girl who died—she was found in a bathroom."

"So?" he said, heading towards the stairs to the boy's dormitory.

"What if she never left?"

"You don't mean—?"

I nodded. "Moaning Myrtle."

***

"All those times!" Edward said bitterly at breakfast. "All those times we were in that bathroom, she was three stalls away! It was hard enough to find the spiders. To sneak into the bathroom right next to the scene of the attack? It's impossible!"

"I know," I groaned, taking a bite of toast.

"Can I please have everyone's attention?" Professor McGonagall said. "I have some good news."

The Great Hall erupted into cheers.

"Dumbledore's coming back!" a bunch of people yelled.

"You caught the heir of Slytherin!" someone at the Ravenclaw table shouted.

"Quidditch matches are back on!" Wood yelled happily.

"Professor Sprout has informed me the Mandrakes are ready. Tonight, we will be able to revive all those poor petrified people. I hope that they will be able to tell us what attacked them. I am hopeful we will end this year with the capture of the culprit."

Everyone started cheering.

"It won't matter that we never talked to Myrtle," Edward said happily. "Bella will probably have the answer." I smiled as Rosalie sat down next to me. Her face was pale and she looked extremely nervous.

"Hey," I said. "Where have you been? McGonagall just said that they're going to revive the petrified people soon. The potion's ready."

Rosalie didn't say anything. She just looked up and down the table. I looked in her lap and saw she was twisting her hands around. When she started rocking back and forth, I realized she looked just like Dobby when he was on the verge of revealing something forbidden.

"I have to tell you something," she whispered.

"What is it?" Edward asked, looking up at her.

She looked down the table to make sure no one was listening to us. Fred, George, Emmett, and Jasper were sitting at the other end, talking to each other.

Rosalie opened her mouth to speak, but no sound came out. She opened her eyes wide and looked terrified, like something was going to come and kill her if she said anything.

"Is it about the Chamber of Secrets?" I asked quietly. "Have you seen someone acting oddly? Do you know who the heir is?"

Rosalie took a deep breath and was about to say something when Percy appeared. "Are you done eating Rose? If you are, I'll take that seat." Rosalie jumped up like her seat had been set on fire and ran away, fear still in her eyes.

"Percy," Edward groaned. "Rosalie was going to tell us something important!"

"What sort of thing?" Percy asked, choking on his tea.

"Well," I said, "We asked her if she had seen anything strange…"

"That's not about the Chamber of Secrets," Percy said quickly.

"How do you know?" Edward asked skeptically. Ever since Percy had threatened to write to Esme, he had been very cool towards Rosalie's older brother.

"Well, if you must know, she walked in on me the other day when I was—um—well, never mind. I just asked her not to mention it. I can't believe she would tell you."

"What were you doing?"" Edward asked, smirking.

"Can you pass me the butter, Alice?" Percy said, quickly changing the subject as his ears went red.

***

Even though the whole mystery was going to be solved tonight without my help, I wasn't going to pass up the chance to talk to Myrtle if it presented itself. Lockhart was leading us to History of Magic that morning, assuring us all danger had passed.

"Mark my words," he said, "The first words out of those petrified people's mouths will be '_It was Hagrid!_' I'm still astounded Professor McGonagall thinks all these security measures are necessary."

"I agree, sir," I said. Edward's mouth dropped open. I winked at him.

"Thank you, Alice. I mean, we teachers have enough on our plates without escorting students to class and staying up all night patrolling the halls."

"You're right," Edward said, catching on."Why don't you leave us, sir? We've only got one more corridor to go…"

"You know what, I think I will. I really should go prepare my next class—" he said, hurrying away.

"Prepare his class?" Edward sneered. "More like curl his hair."

The rest of the Gryffindors headed off to History of Magic while Edward and I hung back. Once they were out of sight, we headed towards Moaning Myrtle's toilet.

"Brandon! Cullen! What are you doing?" came Professor McGonagall's sharp voice.

"We…uh…" Edward stammered, unsure of what to say.

I had an idea. "We came to see Bella," I said quickly. Both Edward and Professor McGonagall stared at me. "Yeah, it's been ages since we've seen her, so we thought we'd sneak into the hospital wing and tell her—er—not to worry since the Mandrakes will be ready soon."

I looked at Professor McGonagall and thought she was going to start screaming at me. To my surprise, she wiped a tear away.

"Of course," she said softly. "I realize how hard this has been on friends and family of those petrified. Of course you two may visit Miss Swan. I will inform Professor Binns where you have gone. Tell Madam Pomfrey I have given you my permission." She walked away, and I heard her blow her nose when she went around the corner.

Edward looked at me. "You are a genius! That's the best story you've ever come up with."

We had no choice but to go visit Bella now. Madam Pomfrey let us in reluctantly.

"There's no point in talking to a petrified person," she said, leading us over to Bella (after she repaired my wrist). She gave us a suspicious look before she returned to her office.

She was right—Bella had no idea we were there. It would have been more useful to tell the door not to worry.

"I wonder if she saw her attacker," Edward said, peering into Bella's eyes. "If they sneaked up on everybody, we'll never know who it was."

I wasn't paying attention to him—I saw staring at Bella's hand. Her fists were clenched—and in her right hand, there was a piece of paper. "Look!" I hissed, pointing to her hand.

"Try and get it out," Edward said, moving slightly so Madam Pomfrey couldn't see us. I placed my hand on her wrist to hold her steady.

"_Bella!" Rosalie screeched, storming down the stairs from our dormitory into the common room, where Bella and I were sitting, working on our Charms homework._

_Bella looked up at her, and was taken aback by Rosalie's furious expression. "What?"_

"_Scabbers is gone!"_

"_Oh. Why are you telling me this?"_

"_Come with me," she snarled, grabbing Bella's arm and pulling her upstairs. I followed, unsure about what was going on. We walked into the room and over to Rosalie's bed. "Look!"_

_We looked down at the sheets and saw a few small drops of blood. _

"_Oh, that could be—"_

"_Look what I found next to it!" Rosalie shouted, shoving something in Bella's face. I looked over, and saw Rosalie was holding a few long, ginger cat hairs._

"Alice!" Edward whispered. I looked up at him and saw he was looking at me. "What did you see?"

"Rosalie, Bella, blood, and cat hairs," I said, unsure of how else to describe it. Edward looked at me, extremely confused. "It's not important now. Can you hold onto Bella while I try to get the paper from her hand?" He nodded, and I tried maneuvering the paper from her death grasp. It wasn't easy—I almost ripped the paper trying to get it out. Eventually, I got it free, and smoothed it on my knee.

I looked and saw it was a page from an old library book. I moved closer to Edward, and the two of us read it:

_Of the many fearsome beasts and monsters that roam our land, there is none more curious of deadly than the Basilisk, also known as the King of Serpents. This snake, which may reach gigantic size and live many hundreds of years, is born from a chicken's egg, hatched beneath a toad. Its methods of killing are most wondrous, for aside from its deadly and venomous fangs, the Basilisk has a murderous stare, and all who are fixed with the beam of its eyes shall suffer instant death. Spiders flee before it, for the Basilisk is their mortal enemy, and only the crowing of the rooster is fatal to it._

Beneath this, Bella had written _pipes_.

I gasped. "Edward, this is it! The Chamber of Secrets' monster is a Basilisk—a giant serpent! That's why I've been hearing voices all over the place and nobody else has—it's because I can speak Parseltongue." I looked at all the beds. "No one has died because no one has looked into its eyes directly! Colin saw it through his camera. Lauren saw it through Nearly Headless Nick. Nick go the full blast, but he couldn't die again…and Bella and that Hufflepuff prefect were found with a mirror. I bet she had just found out what it was and warned the first person she saw to look around the corner with a mirror first. The girl pulled out her mirror and…and…" I was so excited—we finally had the answer!

"What about Mrs. Norris?" Edward whispered.

I thought for a moment. "That water! There was water on the ground that night—I bet she saw the eyes in the water from Moaning Myrtle's toilet." I scanned the page again. "…_the crowing of the rooster…spiders flee…_it all fits! Hagrid's roosters were killed—probably because the heir didn't want one near the castle if a Basilisk was going to be sneaking around the school."

"How's a giant snake going to get around the school without anyone seeing it?"

I pointed to Bella's handwriting. "The plumbing. I've been hearing the voices in the walls…"

Edward's mouth dropped open. "The entrance…what if it's in a bathroom? What if it's in—?"

"_Moaning Myrtle's bathroom!_" I said. We both sat there for a moment. "This means I can't be the only Parselmouth at the school—the heir of Slytherin is one too!"

"What should we do?" Edward asked. "Go to McGonagall?"

I thought. "Let's go to the staff room—she'll be there soon. It's almost time for break."

We sprinted out of the hospital wing and down to the staff room. It was empty for the moment, but Edward and I were too excited to sit. We paced back and forth, still thinking about what we had just found out.

The bell never rang. Instead, Professor McGonagall's voice echoed through the corridors. "All students are to return to their House dormitories at once. All teachers to the staff room immediately, please."

"Oh no," Edward said. "Not another attack! Not now! What should we do?"

"Let's hide in there," I said, pointing to a wardrobe. "Let's hear what happened. Then we can tell them what we found out." We climbed in and stood towards the back of the wardrobe. We waited, hearing people moving above us and the staff room door opening as more and more teachers entered. Finally Professor McGonagall entered.

"It's happened," she croaked to the silent room. "A student has been taken by the monster. Right into the Chamber itself."

Professor Flitwick squeaked. Professor Sprout gasped loudly. I heard Snape speak through a strained voice. "How can you be sure?"

"The heir of Slytherin left another message, right beneath the first one. _'Her skeleton will lie in the Chamber forever.'_"

I heard Professor Flitwick burst into tears.

"Which student was it?" Madam Hooch asked.

"Rosalie Weasley."

I felt all the breath disappear from me as I sunk down to the bottom of the wardrobe. Edward joined me. I looked at his face, and I knew I looked exactly the same. His face was white and tears were glistening in his eyes.

"We will send all the students home tomorrow. This is the end of Hogwarts. Dumbledore always said—"

She was cut off by the door bursting open. Please be Dumbledore…please be Dumbledore…please be—

"Sorry—dozed off—what have I missed?" came Lockhart's voice.

"Just the man," Snape said. "A girl has been taken by the monster directly into the Chamber itself. Your moment has come at last."

"That's right, Gilderoy," Professor Sprout said. "Weren't you just saying last night you knew where the Chamber had been all along?"

"I—well, I—"

"Didn't you tell me you knew what laid inside it?" Professor Flitwick said.

"D-did I? I don't recall—"

"I remember you saying you were sorry you didn't have a crack at the monster before Hagrid was arrested, that the whole affair had been bungled from the start, and that you should have been given free reign from the start."

Lockhart didn't say anything.

"We'll leave it to you, Gilderoy. Tonight will be an excellent time to do it. We'll make sure everyone's out of your way. You'll be able to tackle the monster. Free reign at last."

"I—very well. I—I'll be in my office, getting—getting ready." I heard the door open as Lockhart left.

"Right, that's got him out from under our feet," Professor McGonagall sneered. "The Heads of Houses should go inform their students what has happened. Tell them the Hogwarts Express will take them home first thing in the morning."

The door opened and everyone left. Edward and I stayed seated on the floor of the wardrobe.

***

It was the worst day of my life. It was worse than when I had been forced to sleep in my closet for a week without food. It was worse than when Uncle John made us move from hotel to hotel to avoid me getting my letter. It was worse than when April broke my rib by kicking me in the chest for sitting on her swing.

Fred, George, Emmett, Jasper, Ron, Edward, and I all sat together in to common room in silence, unable to say anything. Percy had gone to send an owl to his parents, then shut himself up in his dormitory.

I started sobbing. Jasper got up, pulled me onto his lab, and cradled me against his chest. At the moment, I didn't care that he wasn't the one who had been sending me love letters—he was here for me. He was comforting me. He was protecting me. I just sobbed into his chest, thinking about Rosalie.

"She knew something," Edward said, breaking the silence. I looked at him, wiping my eyes. "It wasn't some stupid thing about Percy. She found something out about the Chamber of Secrets, and that's why she was taken." Emmett looked at his brother, his eyes brimming with tears. After all, Rosalie was like his little sister. "I mean, she was pure-blood. There can't be any other reason."

"Do—do you think there's any chance she's still alive?" Ron asked quietly. We both looked at him. I couldn't see how she could still be alive—the sun was sinking below the skyline. Rosalie had been gone for hours. I leaned against Jasper's chest and started sobbing again. He put his hand on my back and started rubbing it, trying to calm me down.

"You know what?" Edward said to me, "I think we should go tell Lockhart what we know. He's going to try to get into the Chamber. We should tell him we think it's a Basilisk in there."

There was nothing else to do but stay here and cry and have everyone else feel sorry for you. I nodded and got up. No one tried to stop us as we walked out through the portrait hole.

"Edward! Alice! Wait up!" someone called as we walked away from the common room. I looked back and saw Ron standing outside the portrait.

"Ron?" Edward asked. "What are you doing?"

"I'm coming with you. Rosalie's my little sister, and I can't just stay in there—I'm going to go mad."

Edward looked at me. "Okay, you can come, but hurry!" The three of us ran down the corridor to Lockhart's office while Edward and I filled Ron in on what we knew.

"So you think it's a Basilisk?" Ron asked.

I nodded. "I've been hearing voices in the walls, so we think it's been getting around through the plumbing. We even might know where the entrance is."

"Really? Where?"

"In the girl's bathroom right where Mrs. Norris was attacked. Are you ready?" I asked them as we approached Lockhart's office. We walked in.

"Professor Lockhart! Professor Lockhart!" Edward shouted. I looked around the office, stunned to see it almost empty. Lockhart had packed up everything. There were many boxes sitting on the floor, full of books. Gilderoy Lockhart peered around the corner and was startled to see us.

"Oh, hello Miss Brandon, Mr. Cullen, Mr. Weasley. Now's not really the best time, so if you'll excuse me…"

"We have information about the Chamber of Secrets! We know how to get in!" I said.

"Yes, well, urgent call. I would, it's just—I really can't stay."

"You're leaving?" Ron asked, bewildered. "What about my sister?"

"I would if I could, but I really need to be going."

"You're running away!" Edward accused. "After all that stuff you did in your books, you're running away?"

"Books can be deceiving."

"You _wrote_ them!" I shouted.

"Alice, use your common sense! My books wouldn't have sold as well if people didn't think _I'd_ done the stuff in them! No one wants to read about an ugly American warlock, even if he did happen to save a village from a werewolf. He'd look terrible on the front cover—no fashion sense whatsoever. And the witch who banished the banshee had a harelip. I mean—"

"You're a fraud," Ron said, glaring at Lockhart. "You just took credit for what other people have done. Is there anything you _can_ do?"

"Memory Charms. I produce a very good Memory Charm. I'd have to after all—I couldn't have all those people revealing to the public what I'd done. I simply get them to tell me what they did, and then put a Memory Charm on them so they never remember doing it." He shut the trunk he was packing. "Speaking of which, so sorry kids." He pulled out his wand. "I can't have you blabbing my secrets—I'd never sell another book!"

Ron was one step ahead of him. "_Expelliarmus!_" Lockhart's wand flew into the air. Edward snatched it and chucked it out the window. "Shouldn't have let Professor Snape teach us that one."

"What do you want from me?" Lockhart asked weakly. "I don't know where the Chamber is!"

"Lucky for you, _we_ do," Edward said.

"And we know what's inside of it," I said. Let's go."

Ron kept his wand pointed at Lockhart as I led everyone to Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. We made Lockhart go in first—I was happy to see he looked terrified.

"Oh, it's you," Moaning Myrtle said when we walked in. "What do you want?"

"To ask you how you died," Edward said.

Myrtle, who was usually all doom and gloom, looked delighted. "Ooh, it was dreadful! It happened right here. I died in this very stall," she said dramatically. "I remember it so well. I'd hidden because Olive Hornby was teasing me about my glasses. The door was locked and I was crying when someone came in. I thought it was Olive to tease me some more, but they said something in another language. What got me angry was that it was a _boy's_ voice! So I opened the door to tell him to go to his own bathroom and—"

"And what?" I asked.

"_I died_."

"How?"

"I don't know. I just remember seeing a great big pair of yellow eyes."

"Where did you see them?" I asked, getting excited.

"Over there," she said, pointing to the sink. Edward, Ron, and I rushed over while Lockhart pressed back against the wall.

I looked at the sinks carefully when I saw it—a tiny snake engraved on one of the taps. I turned it, but nothing happened.

"It's never worked," Myrtle said, floating next to Edward.

"Say something in Parseltounge," Edward told me.

"Open up."

"Nope. English."

"Open up," I tried again, but instead of my voice, I heard a sort of hissing noise come from my lips. The tap glowed white and began spinning. The sink sank downwards, leaving a pipe big enough for each of us to fit into. I knew what I was going to do. "I'm going down there," I told Ron and Edward.

"I'm coming too," Edward said without hesitation.

"Me too," Ron said. "I'm not going to let Rosalie be eaten by that monster."

I looked over at Lockhart. "Well, you don't need me so I'll just—"

Ron pointed his wand at Lockhart.

"You can go first," I snarled. Lockhart, without a wand to defend himself, walked forward. "Kids, what will this—" Edward pushed him with his foot and Lockhart slid down the pipe. I heard him yelling all the way down.

"Okay, here I go," I said, putting my legs into the pipe. I pushed off the side and slid down. I rushed down the dark, slimy pipe, keeping my eyes closed. I didn't know how long I had been in there, but I knew it was deeper than the dungeons. I heard Edward enter the pipe, followed by Ron.

I started worrying about what would happen when I reached the bottom when I shot out and landed on the damp floor of a stone tunnel. I heard a crunch and I looked down—I had landed on rat bones. The entire floor was covered the with skeletons of small animals—probably old meals of the Basilisk. I looked over and saw Lockhart getting up from the ground, brushing off his robes. Edward and Ron both shot out of the tunnel.

"Whoa," Edward said, getting to his feet. "We must be miles under the school."

"Under the lake, probably," I said, looking at the slimy walls. I looked at the tunnel ahead, which looked much darker than the area we currently were. "_Lumos_," I muttered pulling out my wand. "C'mon, let's go." We started walking though the dark tunnel, unsure of where we were going. "Remember, any sign of movement, cover your eyes."

We kept walking when we saw a large creature in front of us.

"What's that?" Ron whimpered.

I looked and saw something coiled up.

"Do you think it's sleeping?" Edward asked.

I walked closer to it and cast my wand on it. "It's just the skin," I said, sighing.

"Blimey, it's huge!" Ron gasped. I nodded. Just then, I heard a thud. I looked behind and saw Lockhart had fainted.

"Heart of a lion, that one," Edward muttered. Lockhart jumped up and tackled Edward to the ground, grabbing his wand out of his hands.

"The adventure ends here, boys and girl. I'll take some of the skin back to the school and tell them how I was too late to save poor Miss Weasley, and how you three lost your minds at the sight of her mangled body—say goodbye to your memories. _Obliviate!_"

There was a crash as Lockhart shot backwards when Edward's wand exploded. I dived out of the way as chunks from the ceiling fell down, creating a wall between us. "Edward! Ron! Are you okay?" I shouted. I would never forgive myself if something happened to them.

"We're here," came Edward's muffled voice. "We're okay. The git isn't—he got blasted by the wand when it exploded." The was an 'ow' as either Ron or Edward kicked Lockhart. "What are we supposed to do now? We can't get through!"

I looked around. The ceiling was cracked, so I wasn't going to try moving the rocks with magic.

I was wasting time—Rosalie had been here for hours. What is she was still alive?

"You guys wait there," I called. "I'm going to go find Rosalie. If I'm not back in an hour…"

"We'll try and shift some of this rock so you can get back," Edward said.

"Be careful, Alice," Ron said.

"See you in a bit," I said, taking a deep breath before I continued further down the tunnel. I kept walking until I approached a wall with a group of snakes carved into it, their eyes set with emeralds.

"_Open" _I hissed. The snakes moved to the side and the wall opened. I clutched my wand in my hand as I walked forward, shaking from head to foot, into the Chamber of Secrets.


	20. Socks

Chapter 19: Socks

**AN: Thank you to my reviewers. You all rock.**

I was in the Chamber of Secrets. This place, the subject of myths and stories, actually existed. I looked around, too terrified to actually see how marvelous it really was. Huge pillars surrounded the room with large stone serpents with emerald eyes carved into them, supporting the ceiling. I looked up, but the tops of the pillars seemed to disappear into the darkness.

I walked through the Chamber slowly, searching for Rosalie. She had to be here somewhere, but I had no idea where to look first. I kept treading through puddles of water, causing my (normally) white socks to become filthy and soaking wet.

I walked further into the Chamber, watching for any movement. Any moment, the Basilisk could emerge, and I had to be ready for that.

As I passed the last set of pillars, a huge statue came into view. It was the face of a man, looming above me. He had a long thin beard that fell to the floor. I looked down and saw a small figure there, with platinum blonde locks.

"Rosalie!" I cried, running towards her. When I got close to her, I dropped my wand on the ground and knelt down next to her. She was lying completely still on the ground. A few feet away, the diary was lying open on the ground.

"Rosalie! Rosalie! Wake up!" I shouted, grabbing her shoulders and shaking her. She didn't give any sign that she knew I was there.

"Please wake up," I cried. "Please don't be dead. Please, you've got to open your eyes!"

"She won't open them," a soft voice said. I looked up and saw a tall handsome guy leaning against the nearest pillar. He had black hair, but his whole body appeared blurry, as if he wasn't really there.

"Aro?" I asked. "Aro Voltri?" He nodded. "Wait, what do you mean? She's not—?"

"Dead? No, she's still alive, but barely."

I stared at him. Aro had been here fifty years ago, but he only looked like he was a few years older than I was. "Are you a ghost?"

He shook his head. "A memory, preserved in a diary for 50 years." He pointed to the black book.

I bent down to pick up my wand, but saw it had vanished.

"Hey, have you seen my—?" I looked over at Aro and saw he was holding my wand in his right hand. "Hey, thanks."

He smiled evilly. "You won't be needing this." He smiled at me, twirling my wand between his long fingers.

I stood up. "Listen, we've got to get out of here. If the basilisk comes—"

"It won't come until it's called," Aro said calmly.

"What do you mean?" I asked, standing in front of Rosalie.

"I've waited a long time for this, Alice Brandon. For the chance to see you. To speak to you."

What was wrong with him? "Listen, I don't think you get the danger we're in. This is the Chamber of Secrets! We can talk later when—"

"We're going to talk _now_." He put my wand in his pocket and smiled. There was something funny going on here…

"How did Rosalie get like this?" I asked slowly.

"That's an interesting question. And a very long story. I guess the real reason Rosalie Weasley is like this is because she opened her heart and spilled all her secrets to an invisible stranger."

"Huh?"

"My diary, Alice," Aro said. "Rosalie's been writing in it for months, telling me all her silly worries—how her brothers tease her, how hard it is to be the best friend of the famous Alice Brandon, how she doesn't think Emmett Cullen will _ever_ see her as more than a little sister…"

Aro never took his eyes off me when he spoke. He had a hungry look to his eyes.

"It's very boring to listen to the silly little troubles of a 12-year-old girl, but I was patient. I wrote back sympathetically. And Rosalie simply _loved_ me. _No one's ever understood me like you, Aro…I'm so glad I've got this diary to write in…it's like having a friend I can carry around in my bag…_"

Aro laughed a cold, high-pitched laugh that sounded familiar. The laugh didn't suit him, and made my hairs stand up on the back of my neck.

"If I do say so myself, I've always been able to charm people to get them to do what I want. Rosalie poured her heart and soul to me, and her soul was _exactly_ what I wanted…I grew stronger on a steady diet of her fears and secrets. I grew powerful, far more powerful than little Miss Weasley. Powerful enough to start feeding her some of my secrets, putting a little of my soul into her."

"What do you mean?" I asked, shivering. I knew I was not safe right now, but I didn't know how to get Rosalie and me out of here without Aro noticing.

"I thought you were smarter than this, Alice. I thought you would have guessed by now. Rosalie Weasley opened the Chamber of Secrets. She strangled the school's roosters. She wrote threatening messages on the wall and sent the serpent of Slytherin on four Mudbloods and the Squib's cat."

"No," I whispered, looking down at my unconscious best friend.

"Yes," Aro said matter-of-factly. "Well, she didn't _know_ she was the one doing it—at first. Her diary entries became much more interesting. I wish you could have been there to see them. _Dear Aro_," he said, watching my horrified face, "_I think I'm losing my memory. There are feathers all over my robes, but I don't know how they got there. Dear Aro, I don't know what I was doing before the party on Halloween, but there was red paint all down the front of my robes. Dear Aro, Percy keeps telling me I'm pale. Dear Aro, Alice, Edward, and Bella are acting strange around me. They say I'm not myself. I think they suspect me. Dear Aro, There was another attack today, but I don't know where I was. I don't know what I'm going to do. I think I'm going mad…I think I'm the one attacking everyone, Aro!_"

My hands were covering my mouth now. I was using all my will not to attack Aro right now.

"It took a long time for Miss Weasley to stop trusting her diary, and she eventually tried to get rid of it. That's where _you_ come in, Alice. You figured out how it worked, and I couldn't have been more delighted. I was so very anxious to meet you, to talk to you…"

"Oh yeah?" I said, controlling my voice. "Why did you want to meet me?"

"Well, Rosalie had told me all about you and your fascinating history." His eyes darted to the scar on my forehead. "I knew I had to find out more about you, so I showed you my famous capture of the oaf, Hagrid, to gain your trust…"

"Hagrid's my friend!" I said, my hands shaking with anger. "And you framed him! I thought you made a mistake, but you—"

Aro laughed again and I shivered.

"It was my word against Hagrid's. Well, you can imagine how it looked to old Armando Dippet. On one hand, poor but brilliant Aro Voltri. Parentless, but so _brave_. School prefect and a model student…on the other hand, big, blundering Hagrid, in trouble every other week. Trying to raise werewolf cubs in the Forbidden Forest, wrestling trolls. I mean, I even convinced _you_ of his guilt! Still, I was surprised it worked out as well as it did. I was sure someone must realize Hagrid couldn't _possibly_ be the heir of Slytherin. It had taken me five years to discover everything I could about the Chamber of Secrets. As if Hagrid had the brains…or the power. Only the Transfiguration teacher, Dumbledore, thought Hagrid was innocent. He had Dippet keep Hagrid on as the gamekeeper. He never seemed to trust me."

"I bet he saw right through you," I snarled through my teeth.

Aro smiled at me. "He kept an annoyingly close eye on me after that. I knew it wouldn't be safe to open it again while I was at Hogwarts, so I made this diary, preserving my sixteen-year-old self in it. I knew one day I would lead someone else to finish Salazar Slytherin's noble work!"

"You haven't," I said quietly. Aro looked at me. "The Mandrakes are ready. All the petrified people will be awake tomorrow. No one even died this time."

Aro sighed. "I told you Alice, killing Mudbloods doesn't matter to me anymore. For the past few months, my main target has been you."

"Me?"

"Imagine how angry I was when Rosalie wrote in the diary the next time. The little brat saw you with it and panicked. What if you figured out how to work it? What if I told you who had been strangling roosters and setting the monster of Slytherin on students? So she stole it back while you were out of the dorm. I knew what I had to do. From everything Rosalie had told me, you were on the trail of the heir. She said you would do anything if one of your friends were attacked, and the whole school was buzzing because you could speak Parseltounge. I had Rosalie write her own goodbye message on the wall and come down here. She struggled and cried, but there isn't much life left in her now…she put too much into the diary, too much into me. Enough for me to leave the pages of the book. I knew you'd come here to find her, Alice Brandon. I have _so_ many questions for you."

"Like what?" I asked, my fists clenched tightly.

"How is it you, a little girl with _no_ magical training, managed to defeat the greatest dark wizards of all time? How did you escape with a scar while Lord Voldemort's powers were destroyed?" He stared at me, his green eyes taking on a red glow. This was very bad.

"Why do you care?" I asked. "Voldemort is after your time."

"Voldemort is my past, present, and future," he said, pulling my wand out of his pocket. He pointed it in the air and wrote three words in fire.

ARO MODDLEM VOLTRI

He waved the wand once, and the letters rearranged themselves.

I AM LORD VOLDEMORT

"It was a name I used at Hogwarts. Only with my most intimate friends, of course. As if I was going to keep that filthy Muggle name. My father, a Muggle married my mother. When he found out what she really was, he left her and me before I was even born. Why would I keep his name when the blood of Salazar Slytherin flows through me? I fashioned myself a new name, a name wizards everywhere would one day fear to speak when I became the greatest sorcerer in the world!"

"You're wrong." Aro gave me a look. "Sorry to disappoint you, but Albus Dumbledore is the greatest sorcerer in the world. Everyone knows he was the only person you ever feared. Even when you were at the height of your power, you never tried to take over Hogwarts. He saw right through you at Hogwarts and he still frightens you, wherever you're now hiding—"

Aro's smile faded and was replaced with an ugly sort of look. "Dumbledore has been driven out of the school by the mere memory of me."

"He's not as gone as you might think!" I said, rising to my feet. Aro was about to say something, but froze when music filled the Chamber. I looked up and saw Fawkes, Dumbledore's phoenix fly in. He dropped something in my lab before settling on my shoulder.

"That's a phoenix…" Aro said cautiously.

"Fawkes?" I asked. "What are you doing here?" The bird gently closed his claws around my shoulder.

"And _that—_" Aro said, pointing to the bundle in my hands, "Is the school's Sorting Hat." Aro looked at me for a minute before bursting into laughter. "So _this_ is what Dumbledore sends his great defender—a song bird and an old hat. Do you feel brave, Alice Brandon? Do you feel safe with a bird and a hat?" Aro's laughter rang through the Chamber. I stood there, waiting for him to stop.

Aro sighed, wiping a tear from his eye. He was still smiling at me.

"Twice—in your past, my future—we've met. Twice, you escaped and I failed to kill you. _How did you survive?_ Tell me everything, Alice Brandon. The longer you talk, the longer you stay alive." I looked at him, and saw the outline of his body was becoming clearer. I knew the clearer he became, the less life Rosalie had in her. I also knew if we were going to fight, I'd prefer to fight sooner rather than later.

"No one knows how you lost your powers when you tried to kill me," I said, looking Aro in the eyes, which were more red than green now. "I don't know, but I do know why you couldn't kill me. It's because my mother, my common, _Muggle-born_ mother, died to save me. She scarified herself to save my life, and that stopped you from killing me." My hands were shaking with anger now. "I've seen the real you," I added. "I saw you last year when you tried to kill me again. And you know what? You're a wreck. You're barely alive. You're in hiding, relying on other people to—"

Aro looked furious before smiling again. "So, your mother died to see you? Yes, that's a powerful counter charm. But I was right all along, you see. There's nothing special about you. You have no extraordinary magical powers. You're just a scared little girl who is in way over her head. I always wondered if there was maybe something I overlooked that night. After all, we are very alike. Both orphans, both raised by Muggles we despised, probably the only two Parselmouths at Hogwarts since the great Slytherin himself. I see now, it was only a lucky chance that saved you last time. There's no mother to die for you this time, Alice Brandon."

I stood there, watching him. I waited for him to raise my wand and strike me down, just like he did to my parents. He didn't.

"I'm going to teach you a little lesson, Alice. We're going to pit the powers of Lord Voldemort, heir of Slytherin, against famous Alice Brandon and the best tools Albus Dumbledore can provide."

He looked at Fawkes and the hat in my arms and laughed again. He turned away from me to face the large statue in the center of the Chamber. He started hissing, but I understood him.

"_Speak to me, Slytherin, greatest of the Hogwarts four!_"

The mouth on the statue began moving until it was completely open. In it, I saw something lying there. It started moving until it slithered out and dropped onto the floor of the Chamber.

The basilisk.

I shut my eyes immediately and backed up until I hit the stone wall. I felt lighter as Fawkes left my shoulder. I wanted to grab his legs—I didn't want to be left there by myself.

"_Kill her._"

I heard the snake start moving towards me, but I was helpless. I had no wand to defend myself with, and my only other companion had left me. I turned to run, but tripped and smashed into the floor. I hit my jaw and felt blood pool into my mouth. I heard the basilisk moving closer. It was only feet away now.

I heard the basilisk hissing and spitting above me. Its tail hit me and I was thrown from the floor into the wall of the Chamber. My head slammed against the wall and I waited for the basilisk to sink its fangs into my throat. Instead, I heard more hissing and something slamming into pillars.

Cautiously, I opened my eyes. The basilisk was waving around wildly in the air while Fawkes swooped around above it. Every so often, Fawkes would fly right under the basilisk's mouth, and the serpent would snap at him with hits dagger fangs. Fawkes dived at the basilisk's face and his beak disappeared. A shower of crimson blood hit the floor. I looked down and saw pools of blood covered the ground.

The basilisk swung its tail, narrowly missing me, and turned before I had a chance to shut my eyes. Instead of being killed by its deadly stare, I looked at its face. Its yellow eyes were now red, having been punctured by Fawkes' beak. The snake, now blind, was still trying to snap at Fawkes.

"NO!" Aro cried. "LEAVE THE BIRD! THE GIRL IS BEHIND YOU! YOU CAN STILL SMELL HER! KILL HER! KILL HER!"

The snake turned and started slithering blindly over towards me. Fawkes still circled above him, jabbing ever so often and singing his song in the snake's ears.

I saw the Sorting Hat in front of me. It was my only chance.

I picked up the hat and shoved it on my head. "_Help me…help me…_" I whispered. Instead of answering me, something dropped onto my head. I pulled the hat off and whatever had hit me fell into my lap. I saw a long sword with rubies embedded in the handle there. I stood up with the sword in my hand and turned to face the basilisk.

"KILL HER!" Aro screamed. "LEAVE THE BIRD! THE GIRL IS BEHIND YOU! SMELL HER—SMELL HER BLOOD!"

I was ready for the snake this time. He lunged blindly at me, but I dodged to the right, and the snake smashed into the wall. He tried to get me again, but I moved to the side to avoid his fangs. I turned to face the basilisk. Its mouth opened wide and he showed me his mouth full of fangs. He lunged at me a third time.

I stuck the sword forward and shoved it into his mouth. The snake hissed furiously as blood pooled out of the wound and onto my robes. As I pulled the sword out, I felt a sharp pain by my elbow. I looked down and saw one of the fangs sinking deeper and deeper into my body.

I sunk to my knees and pulled the fang out, but the damage had been done. I felt the poison start to spread, leaving a trail of pain through my body.

"You're dead, Alice Brandon," Aro said, standing above me. I looked up at him, but he, along with the Chamber of Secrets, was beginning to fade. I could feel the poison spreading slowly and I knew I only had minutes left.

"So ends the famous Alice Brandon. All alone in the Chamber of Secrets, forsaken by her friends. She sits on the ground, a scared little girl who unwisely challenged the greatest wizard who ever lived. You'll be back with your Mudblood mother in a few minutes, Alice. She bought you extra time, but Lord Voldemort got you in the end. I'm going to stand here and watch you die so I can tell the whole world what happened to Alice Brandon." He laughed his cold laugh again.

I heard Fawkes' song again and something landed in front of me. I looked down and saw Aro's diary lying on the floor. Without missing a beat, I grabbed the diary and plunged the basilisk fang into the center of it. There was a long, piercing scream as ink spilled out of the diary onto my robes. Aro fell to the ground as holes of light pierced through him.

There was a clank as my wand fell to the ground, then someone coughing. I looked over at Rosalie and saw her stirring as she got up.

"Alice?" she called. I tried to get up, but fell to the ground. The poison had spread so much—I knew I was almost dead.

"Alice! What happened? Where's Aro?" She started crying. "It was me all along. I t-tried to tell you earlier, but I c-couldn't in front of P-Percy."

"Rosalie, you have to get out of here. Go back down the corridor, and you'll find Edward and Ron there. Go get Dumbledore." Fawkes flew over and landed next to me. "Fawkes, you were brilliant. I just wasn't fast enough." The bird bent his head down next to me and blinked three times. I looked at Rosalie. Instead of seeing a blurry outline, she was becoming clearer. The pain from my body was disappearing, and my muscles started functioning again.

Rosalie looked at me.

"Phoenix tears," I said. "They have healing powers. C'mon, let's get out of here." I put my arm around her waist, making sure not to touch her skin, and helped her off the ground.

"I'm going to be expelled," she said miserably. "You remember what Dumbledore said—if I broke anymore school rules, he expelled me. Plus, I attacked a bunch of students. What will my parents say?" The two of us walked through the Chamber, back to where Edward, Ron, and Lockhart were. I had the sword in my hand with the hat and diary tucked under my arm.

"Edward! Ron!" I called as we approached the rock wall. I saw a small hole where Edward and Ron had managed to clear a path for us to come through. "I have Rosalie—she's okay!"

"Rosalie!" Ron yelled, pulling her through the hole and into a hug. I climbed through and Edward took my hand to help me down. I didn't even care that he sent me into another vision.

" _It's supposed to be the scariest building in England," Bella said, staring at the run down house on the hill._

"_You already said that," Edward reminded her._

"_Did I? Sorry. It's just so weird being here without Rosalie and Alice."_

"_I know."_

_Bella shivered._

"_Did you want to get a drink at the Three Broomsticks and warm up?" he asked her. She nodded, and the two of them set off towards the shops in Hogsmeade._

_I snuck up behind them and whispered in Edward's ear._

"_Boo."_

"_Who's there?" he shouted, turning around._

"_Over here," I called, still hidden under the cloak._

"_Alice!" Bella laughed. "Take off your cloak so we can see you!"_

_I pulled off my cloak and stood in the snow, smiling at two of my best friends. "So, what fun stuff is there to do in Hogsmeade?" I asked, grinning from ear to ear._

"Rosalie! Rosalie! I can't believe you're okay!" Ron was saying, pulling his only sister into a bone-crushing hug.

"Whoa, where'd you get a sword?" Edward asked, pointing to the weapon I used to kill the basilisk. "And whose bird is that? And is that the _Sorting Hat?_"

"I'll explain later," I said, catching Rosalie's eye. I didn't want to explain everything right now, especially with her brother here.

"But—"

"Later! Hey, where's Lockhart?" I asked.

"He's, uh, back there," Ron said, pointing behind us. "He's in a bad state. Go and see."

Edward and I walked back to where Lockhart was sitting on the ground, humming to himself and smiling.

"Sir?"

"Oh, hello. Odd sort of place, isn't it? Do you live here?"

I looked at him, dumbfounded.

"His memory's gone," Edward told me. "The spell backfired and wiped his memory instead of ours. He doesn't have a clue who he is or what he's doing here. We had him sit down and wait—he's a danger to himself.

"Have you figured out a way to get back up to the school?" I asked Edward and Ron. They both shook their heads. Fawkes flew in front of me.

"It looks like he wants you to grab on," Edward said. "But you're too heavy for him."

"Fawkes isn't an ordinary bird. If we all hold onto each other, he can fly us up the pipe and back into the school. Okay, Edward, you take Rosalie's hand. Rosalie, you hold onto Ron. Professor Lockhart—"

"She means you," Edward said to the delusional Lockhart.

"—you grab Ron's other hand. Okay, let's go." I grabbed onto Fawkes' tail feathers while Edward held onto my robes. Fawkes lifted into the air, carrying all five of us without a problem. We flew up the pipe and back into Moaning Myrtle's bathroom.

"You're alive," she said, staring at all five of us.

"No need to sound disappointed," Edward said. I tried wiping the blood off my clothes, but it was no use.

"Oh, well I was thinking…if you had died, you'd be welcome to share my toilet, Edward." Her cheeks turned silver as she said that.

"Uh, thanks," Edward said as we left the bathroom.

"Looks like Myrtle's got a crush on someone," I teased as we followed Fawkes down the halls. We eventually found ourselves outside of Professor McGonagall's office. I looked over at Rosalie one more time and saw tears running down her face. I took a deep breath and opened the door.

"Rosalie!" Mrs. Weasley cried, jumping out of her chair and pulling Rosalie into her arms. Mr. Weasley stood right behind her, wiping away tears. He took his daughter away from his wife and lifter her into his arms, kissing her on the cheek.

Professor Dumbledore smiled at me while Professor McGonagall was staring at us, taking deep breaths and steadying herself on her desk. I understood why—everyone was covered in slime. I was covered in blood, and my uniform was ripped into pieces—my shirt had holes in it while my skirt was slit up the one side. My white socks were stained bright red and my hands had blood on them.

"You saved her!" Mrs. Weasley sobbed, throwing her arms around me. "How did you save her?"

"I think we'd all like to know that, Miss Brandon," Professor McGonagall said, lowering herself back into her seat.

Mrs. Weasley let go of me. I walked over to the desk and placed the Sorting Hat, the sword, and the remains of the diary on the desk while Fawkes settled on Dumbledore's shoulder. I turned to face everyone and started telling them what happened. I started with the voices I'd been hearing and how Bella had figured out it was a basilisk, how Edward and I followed the spiders to Aragog and found out the victim from last time had been Moaning Myrtle, how we thought the entrance might be in her bathroom…

"Very well," Professor McGonagall said. "You found out where the entrance to the Chamber was—breaking a hundred school rules in the process—but how did you get out of there _alive_?"

I took a deep breath and continued. I told them how Fawkes arrived just in time, bringing the Sorting Hat with him. I told them how when I was growing desperate, the Sorting Hat gave me the sword which I used to kill the basilisk. I stopped—how could I go on without mentioning the diary or Rosalie's part in everything? She was sitting in her father's lap sobbing. What if they expelled her? Aro's diary didn't work anymore—how could I prove she hadn't been doing everything on her own free will?

"What interests me most is how Lord Voldemort managed to enchant Miss Weasley when my sources tell me he is currently hiding in the forests of Albania." I smiled at Dumbledore as my heart warmed—he knew exactly what I was having difficulty saying.

"W-what?" Mr. Weasley asked. "You-Know-Who enchant Rosalie? But Rosalie's not—she hasn't been—"

"It was the diary," I said quickly. "Aro wrote in it when he was sixteen."

"Ah," Dumbledore said, pulling the diary off the desk and looking at it. "He was probably the most brilliant student Hogwarts has ever known." He turned to the Weasleys. "Very few people know Lord Voldemort was once a student named Aro Voltri. I taught him myself fifty years ago. He disappeared after school…traveling…he became so involved in the dark arts what when he emerged as Lord Voldemort, few people connected him with the smart and handsome boy who had been Head Boy."

"But what's that have to do with our Rosalie?" Mrs. Weasley asked.

"It's the diary," she said, wiping her eyes. "I've been writing in it all year and he's been writing back."

"_Rosalie!_" Mr. Weasley said, looking horrified. "What have I always told you? Never trust anything _if you can't see where it keeps its brain_! Why didn't you show that to your mother or me? Something like that, clearly full of dark magic—"

"I d-didn't know!" she sobbed. "I thought Mum had bought it for me—it was in one of the books she bought me at Diagon Alley—"

"Miss Weasley should go up to the hospital wing. There will be no punishment, of course. Older and wiser wizards than she have been hoodwinked by Lord Voldemort. Bed rest and a large mug of hot cocoa always makes me feel better. Madam Pomfrey is still up. She is finishing administering the Mandrake juice to the petrified victims."

"So Bella's okay!" Edward said.

"There had been no lasting harm, Rosalie." He gave her a smile. "Mr. Weasley will join you in a moment," he said, looking at Ron.

Rosalie and her parents left the office, still looking very shaken.

"Minerva, I think all this calls for a feast. Will you please alert the kitchens?"

"Certainly. I'll leave you to deal with these three then?" He nodded and she left. What did she mean by 'deal with these three?' They couldn't expel us, could they?

"I seem to remember telling you, Miss Brandon and Mr. Cullen, that if you broke anymore school rules, I would have to expel you." We both stared at him. Was he serious? "Which goes to show you that even the best of us must eat our words. All three of you—yes, you two, Mr. Weasley," he added, looking at Ron's stunned face, "Will receive Special Awards for Services to the school and—yes—200 points apiece for Gryffindor. One of us seems to be keeping quiet about his role. Why so modest, Gilderoy?"

"Uh, Professor Dumbledore, there was a minor complication in the Chamber of Secrets. Professor Lockhart—"

"Am I a professor?" Lockhart asked. "Goodness, I expect I was hopeless."

"He tried to perform a memory charm but it backfired," Ron said quietly.

"Dear, me. Would you please escort him to the hospital wing, Mr. Weasley? And Mr. Cullen, could you please send an owl to Azkaban? We need our gamekeeper back!" They both nodded and left. Dumbledore turned to me. "Sit down, Alice."

I took a seat on the chair and stared up at Dumbledore.

"First, I'd like to say thank you. You must have shown me real loyalty—nothing else would have called Fawkes down to you." He stroked the bird's head. "And you met Aro Voltri. He must have been _quite_ interested in you…"

"He said I'm similar to him…very alike," I said.

"_Did_ he, now? And what do you think of that?"

"I'm not like him!" I said, standing to my feet. "I mean, I'm in Gryffindor…" I stopped talking. "Professor, the Sorting Hat told me I'd do well in Slytherin…and everyone thought I was his heir since I can speak Parseltongue…"

"You can speak Parseltongue because Lord Voldemort, the last remaining ancestor of Salazar Slytherin, can speak Parseltongue. If I'm not mistaken, he put some of his powers in you that night. Not that he intended to, I'm sure."

"Voldemort put some of himself in me? So I should be in Slytherin. The Sorting Hat saw Slytherin's power and—"

"—put you in Gryffindor."

"Only because I asked to be," I said sadly.

"Exactly! Alice, that makes you very different from Aro Voltri. It is our choices, more than our abilities, which show us who we truly are. If you want proof you belong in Gryffindor, look at _this_," he said, handing me the sword. I looked at the handle. Engraved below the hilt was a name.

_Godric Gryffindor_.

"Only a true Gryffindor could have pulled that out of the Sorting Hat."

We sat there in silence for a few minutes. "Thank you, sir."

"Why don't you go up to your dorm and clean up before the feast? You could certainly use a hot shower, food, and rest." I got up and was walking to the door when it swung open. Lucius Malfoy was standing there, a furious look on his face. Behind him was Dobby.

"So!" he sneered. "You've decided to come back, even when the governors suspended you."

"You see, Lucius, I was asked to come back. It was like being caught in a hailstorm of owls. When the other governors heard Arthur Weasley's daughter had been killed, they wanted me back here at once. They seemed to think I was the best man for the job. Funny stores they told me…some of them seemed to think you'd curse their families if they didn't suspend me in the first place."

Mr. Malfoy didn't say anything, but he continued to glare at Dumbledore. "Did you catch them?"

"We did."

"Who was it?"

Dumbledore sighed. "The same person it was last time. This time, however, Lord Voldemort decided to act through someone else by means of this diary," he said, holding up the destroyed book. I looked at Dobby, who was acting very oddly. He kept pointing at the diary, then Mr. Malfoy, then hit himself on the head. He was trying to tell me something he wasn't supposed to, but what?

"I see," Lucius Malfoy said.

"Yes. It's a good thing Alice and Edward, with the assistance of Isabella Swan and Ronald Weasley, hadn't discoved what was really going on, Rosalie Weasley would have taken all the blame. No one would have suspected she hadn't been acting on her own free will. Imagine what might have happened then. The Weasleys are one of the oldest pure-blood families. Imagine what that would have done to Arthur's Muggle Protection Act if his daughter was found to have been responsible for attacking Muggleborns. It's a good thing the diary was discovered and Aro's memories wiped from it so this never happens again."

I watched Dobby and finally understood what he was trying to say.

"Let's go," Mr. Malfoy said, kicking Dobby out the door. I watched them go before turning to Dumbledore. "Can I have the diary, sir?"

"Pf course, Alice, but hurry. The feast, remember?"

I nodded before running into the hall. I hoped my plan worked. I kicked my shoe off, pulled the sweaty, bloody sock off my foot, and shoved the diary inside.

"Mr. Malfoy!" I called. He turned around and I shoved the sock, with the diary, into his hands. "I believe this belongs to you."

He pulled the sock off and tossed it aside, staring at the diary.

"I don't know what you're talking about," he said.

"Yes you do. You slipped the diary into Rosalie's book at Flourish and Blotts."

"Oh yeah? _Prove it!_" he spat.

"I can't seeing as the diary doesn't work anymore." I smiled sweetly at him.

"You're going to meet the same sticky end as your parents one day. They were meddlesome fools, just like you! Come, Dobby." He started walking down the stairs, but Dobby stayed where he was. "I said, _come_!"

He looked at the elf, but his face turned to horror when he saw Dobby was cradling my bloody sock. "Master has given Dobby a sock. Master has given Dobby clothes. Dobby is _free_!"

"You lost me my servant!" Mr. Malfoy shouted, pulling out his wand. There was a bang and Lucius Malfoy went flying backwards.

"You will not harm Alice Brandon!" Dobby yelled. "You shall go now!" He pointed to the stairs. Mr. Malfoy looked like he was going to say something. Instead, he scowled and hurried off.

"Alice Brandon has freed Dobby! How can Dobby ever thank miss?"

"Promise to never try and save my life again," I said, smiling at the elf.

Dobby smiled weakly before disappearing with a crack.

***

I had never been to a feast like the one that night. After I had showered, I went down to the Great Hall in my pajamas. Everyone else was there, and the feast went all night. There were so many good parts, like Bella throwing herself into Edward's arms, screaming "You solved it! You solved it!"

Lauren came up to me to apologize for ever suspecting me. She gave me a hug before returning to her friends, who had formed a picnic on the floor.

At three in the morning, Hagrid showed up, pulled me into his arms, and lifted me into the air.

The pointed Edward, Ron, and I received secured Gryffindor's win for the second year in a row.

Professor McGonagall announced to everyone exams had been cancelled as a school treat, much to the chagrin of Bella.

Dumbledore said he was sad to say Professor Lockhart would not be returning to teach next year. "What a shame," Edward said. "He was finally starting to grow on me."

Out of everything that happened at the feast, the best part was when Rosalie walked into the Great Hall. There was a shout as Emmett lifted her into his arms and kissed her on the cheek, causing her to turn bright red. "It's good to have you back, Rosie," he said, putting her back on the ground. She just smiled.

Soon, it was time to return home. I packed my trunk and boarded the Hogwarts Express. Edward, Bella, Rosalie, Emmett, Jasper, Lee, Fred, George, and I got a double compartment at the back of the train and hung out, playing exploding snap and using magic before we were no longer able to.

"Hey, Rose, what was it you caught Percy doing that he seemed so embarrassed about?" Edward asked her.

"Oh, that," she giggled. "Well, you know that girl Emily Call? She's Percy's _girlfriend_."

Fred dropped his wand, causing the glass on the door to break.

"Yeah, I caught them kissing the other day and he made me swear not to tell anybody. You won't tease him, will you?"

"Wouldn't dream of it," George said, looking like Christmas had come early.

"Hey, I'll be right back," I whispered to Edward, He nodded as I left the compartment. I walked down the halls of the train until I came to a compartment where three people were sitting, There was a girl with curly hair, a boy with bright red hair, and a boy with untidy black hair. I opened the door.

"Harry?" He turned to look, but turned away when he saw it was me. "Can I talk to you?"

"Oh, just go!" Ron said, shoving Harry out the door.

Once Harry and I were alone, I took a deep breath. "So, I got a really nice Christmas gift this year."

"Oh yeah?"

I reached to my neck and showed him the necklace. "I mean, anyone who is so thoughtful can't be bad, can they?" I grinned at him.

"Uh…"

"This is the part where you ask me out," I reminded him.

"Would you wanna go out with me?" he asked quietly.

"Of _course_ I would," I said. "I have to get back to my compartment, but write to me this summer, okay?" I gave him a hug before heading back to my compartment. On the way, I ran into Jasper, and the two of us talked about Quidditch.

Eventually, the train reached London and we all headed through the barrier.

"Remember to write me, okay? I don't know how I'd stand another summer with only April to talk to."

"Won't your aunt and uncle be proud when they hear what you did?" Bella asked.

"Proud?" I asked, spotting the Prunleys standing in the corner. "All those times I could have died and I didn't? They'll be furious!" Laughing, I waved goodbye to my friends before joining my family for the summer once again.


	21. The Macy's Parade Float

Chapter 20: The Macy's Parade Float

**AN: Thanks for all the reviews people. You all rawk! (Yes, I decided to be awesome and spell "rock" differently. Don't judge me.)**

_Dear Alice,  
I've been thinking about our conversation on the train ever since I've gotten home. I miss you so much and can't wait to see you again on the train back to Hogwarts.  
All my love,  
Harry_

_Dear Alice,  
You haunt my dreams every night, but in a good way. I always see your face in my head, and I realize how much I want to see your face in person. Is there any way you can talk to your aunt and uncle and convince them to let you stay with me for the rest of the holidays? I'm counting down the days until I see you again.  
All my love,  
Harry_

_Dear Alice,  
My parents and I are in the United States in some place called Salem, Massachusetts for the next few weeks, but I wish I was with_ _you instead. Thank you for the birthday gift—it was perfect. You're the best girlfriend any guy could ask for. I'm going to be in Diagon Alley the week before the new term starts. I hope you can be there then so I can see you at least once before the Hogwarts Express.  
All my love,  
Harry_

I was lying on my bed, working on my summer homework, but my eyes kept darting to the notes my—can you believe it, BOYFRIEND—sent me. Every time I read the words, a huge smile would creep onto my face. Harry was the sweetest, kindest, most attentive (and only) boyfriend I had ever had, and we hadn't even seen each other all summer.

Whenever I read his notes, my hand would instinctively go to the necklace around my neck. The blue sapphire necklace Harry had given to me for Christmas. I sighed before turning back to my parchment so I could continue writing my essay for History of Magic. I had my book propped open on my bed and was trying to write an essay on witch burnings. The only problem was, just like Professor Binns' teaching, this book was putting me to sleep.

I would write for a few minutes, then stop and listen. I had to make sure Uncle John or Aunt Samantha didn't hear my quill moving on the parchment or I'd be back in the closet. They didn't know I had my books—I had picked the lock on the closet where my trunk was my first day back while they were out at some dinner party. I grabbed as many books as I could and stashed them under the loose floorboard in my room before they returned. As long as I didn't spill any ink, they wouldn't know I was studying magic by night.

I looked over at Venus's empty cage. Uncle John, after making me promise I wouldn't use her to send letters to my friends, had allowed me to let her out at night. This was good for her, but I missed her right now—she was the only living creature in this house that could bear to be around me for more than ten minutes.

I dipped my quill in the ink again so I could keep working on my essay.

WHACK!

I spun around and looked at the window. An owl had just flown into it. I quickly opened the window and pulled him inside. Venus and three other owls followed behind, each with a package tied to their feet. I paused for a moment, making sure Uncle John was still sleeping. I heard him grunt in his sleep and I breathed a sigh of relief.

I looked down at the unconscious owl and saw it was Errol, Rosalie's family's owl. I pulled the package off his foot and put him inside Venus's cage. I went over to each of the other owls and untied the parcels from their feet. The one I recognized as Hedwig, Harry's owl. She nibbled my ear affectionately before hooting and flying off. I untied the rest of the packages and put them on my bed. Two of the other owls flew off, but Venus joined Errol in her cage.

I opened Rosalie's box first. There was an envelope on top of a smaller wrapped gift. I opened the card first and pulled out a piece of parchment. A newspaper clipping fell out, along with a picture. I picked up the article and read it:

_Arthur Weasley, head of the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts office at the Ministry of Magic, has won the Daily Prophet's Grand Prize Galleon Draw.  
"We will be spending the money to visit our eldest son in Egypt," Mr. Weasley said to reporters. The Weasleys will be spending a month in Egypt before returning to England for the new year at Hogwarts, where Percy (17), Fred (15), George (15), Ron (13), and Rosalie (13) currently attend._

I smiled and picked up the photograph. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were standing in the back, smiling, with six of their seven children in front of them. Percy was on the end, looking slightly smug. Fred and George were standing next to him, smiling and waving. The person who I assumed was Bill stood next to them with his arm around Ron. Ron had his arms wrapped around the neck of the girl in front of them. She had long hair that was in gentle curls and (even though the picture didn't show it,) she had platinum blonde hair, unlike the rest of her family, who had red hair. In her hands was her rat, Scabbers. She had a huge smile on her face.

The Weasleys deserved that money more than anyone I could think of. They were the kindest wizarding family I knew, but they were poor as dirt. I picked up Rosalie's letter and read it:

_Alice,  
Happy birthday! I hope you're not too miserable with the Muggles.  
Egypt is amazing. Bill took us on a tour of the pyramids here, and it's really cool. You wouldn't believe some of the curses ancient wizards put on the tombs to keep Muggle grave robbers away. Mum wouldn't let me come in the last one because she said it was too scary—she and Dad have been watching me closely after last year.  
I couldn't believe it when Dad won the prize! One thousand Galleons! Most of it is going towards this trip, but they're getting me some new things for school this year.  
We're going to be back a week before the term starts to go to Diagon Alley to get our new books. Is there any way you could come so we could see you? If not, I'll see you on the Hogwarts Express.  
Oh, Percy's Head Boy. He got the letter right before we left. Hope all is well with you!  
All my love,  
Rosalie  
(PS: Have you heard from Harry?)_

Smiling, I put her letter in the pile with Harry's letters and opened her present. It was a small glass spinning top. I wasn't sure what it was supposed to do, but Rosalie had sent me instructions.

_This is a Pocket Sneakoscope. It's supposed to light up and spin if there's someone untrustworthy around. Bill says it's rubbish sold to tourists and shouldn't be taken seriously because it kept lighting up at dinner, but he didn't see Fred and George putting beetles into his soup!  
Rosalie_

I put the Sneakoscope on the table next to my bed and picked up the package from Venus. There was a card and a wrapped present.

_Alice,  
Happy birthday! I'm on holiday in France right now. I had no idea how to send you your gift, but then Venus arrived! It was like she could read my mind. I bought your present through the Daily Prophet (I've been getting it delivered—did you see Rosalie and her family? I'm so jealous—I bet she's learning tons!) There's a lot of interesting history about wizards here in France. I've rewritten my entire History of Magic essay. I hope Professor Binns doesn't mind—it's two scrolls more than what he asked for.  
Rosalie says she and her family are going to be in London the week before the new term. I'm going to be there too, along with Edward. I really hope you can join us!  
Have you heard from Harry at all? Are you two still together? I miss you!  
Love,  
Bella_

I opened her gift and gasped. It was a smooth letter case with gold words on the front that said _Broomstick Servicing Kit_.

"Wow, Bella!" I whispered, turning it over in my hands. "You really outdid yourself." There was everything I needed for my Nimbus 2000 in there—handle polish, tail clippers, and a book detailing how to keep my broom in tip-top shape.

I carefully placed the kit on the ground before turning to the package from one of the unfamiliar owls. I had a feeling I knew who this was from. I opened the box and pulled out a card and a wrapped gift. I opened the envelope and pulled out a letter.

_Dear Alice,  
Happy birthday! I hope you're enjoying your summer (and that the Muggles are treating you okay!) Jasper is spending the summer at my house with Emmett and I. They've been training me to become a Keeper—I think they want me to be on the team when Oliver leaves next year. I think I'm rubbish, but Emmett says I'm decent.  
Other than that, I haven't been doing much. We went and visited my mum once. She's doing okay—she was happy to see us. Jasper keeps asking me about you. It's really annoying.  
We're all going to Diagon Alley when everyone else is—will you be there? If not, I'll see you September 1__st__. Don't let the Muggles get you down!  
Edward  
(PS: Did you hear Percy was made Head Boy? He'll just be bossing us around more this year.)_

I put his letter on the pile with the others and opened his gift. Edward sent me his typical box of candy. At the bottom of the box, however, there was a frame with a picture of Edward, Bella, Rosalie, and me all smiling and waving. I touched the picture with my finger before carefully placing it on the table next to my bed.

The next one was from Harry. He wrote me a beautiful letter, telling me how amazing I was, how much he missed me, and how much he hoped I'd be in Diagon Alley when he was there. He sent me a homemade cake in the shape of a heart. How sweet!

The final box was from Hagrid. I opened it to pull out the card when something inside shook. I heard snapping and froze. Hagrid wouldn't send me anything dangerous—right? I reached in and carefully pulled it out. I had enough time to realize it was a book before it bit me.

"Ouch!" I whispered. The book walked under my bed. I tried reaching for it, but it snapped at me. I got on top of my bed. The book walked out, and I threw myself on top of it. I reached in my drawer and pulled a scarf out. I wrapped it tightly around the book to keep it from biting me. Panting, I bent down and picked up his letter:

_Alice,  
Happy birthday!  
I think you'll find this useful this year—won't say no more. Hope the Muggles are treating you okay. I'll see you soon.  
Hagrid_

Why would Hagrid think a biting book would come in handy? I shook my head and picked up the last letter—the one with the Hogwarts crest on it. There was the typical letter, giving me my list of school books and my ticket for the Hogwarts Express. There was also a packet enclosed. I lifted it out and read:

_Miss Brandon,  
Third years are permitted to visit the village of Hogsmeade. Please have your parent or guardian sign the enclosed form to allow you to visit.  
Professor McGonagall_

Great. There was no way Uncle John would sign my form. He'd rather tell the neighbors I was a witch than allow me to have any kind of fun. I looked back at my birthday cards and decided to worry about it later. After all, this had been the best birthday I'd ever had.

***

"April, you want to come with me to pick up your Auntie Anne?" Uncle John asked over breakfast the next day. I had been sitting at the table, not paying much attention, when my head snapped up at his words. I accidentally put my elbow in my bowl of oatmeal.

"Aunt Anne? Sh-she's coming here?" I stuttered. I hated Aunt Anne. Ever since I had come to live with the Prunleys, she had come to visit us once a year. And her visits were always memories of pain and embarrassment. When I was eight, I accidentally stepped on her dog's tail, so he chased me up a tree. She wouldn't call him down for five hours, and I had to stay up there until after midnight. The story still made April cry with laughter.

"Yes," Uncle John growled. "And while we're on the subject of Aunt Anne, we need to get a few things straight before I get her. Anne is going to be here for a week. I have three rules for you to follow. One, you'll keep your tongue in cheek when talking to her. Two, Anne doesn't know about your abnormality, so you best not tell her. And three, we've told her you attend St. Marie's School for Troubled Girls, so you best stick to that story."

"You told her I go _where_?" I shrieked.

"You heard me. There'll be trouble if you don't remember that. Are you coming, April?"

"No," she said, heading into the family room to watch TV. I sighed and started cleaning up the plates from breakfast.

"I'm off," Uncle John called. "I'll be back in a bit." I had a sudden idea. I followed Uncle John to the front door. "I'm not taking _you_," he snapped.

"Like I'd want to come. I need to ask you something." He looked at me suspiciously. "Third years at my school are allowed to visit this village sometimes, but we can't go unless our guardian signs a permission form."

"And why would I do that?"

"Well, it will be very hard pretending to Aunt Anne I go to that school—"

"St. Marie's School for Troubled Girls!" he shouted, and I was happy to see he looked worried. Maybe this would actually work.

"Right. It's a lot to remember. I'll have to make it sound convincing, won't I? What if I accidentally let something slip?"

"_You'll wish you were never born!_" he roared.

"Punishing me won't make Aunt Anne forget what I could tell her, but if you sign my form, I promise to act like a Mug—like a normal person and I'll remember where I'm supposed to go to school."

Uncle John looked at me. I could tell he was conflicted. On the one hand, him signing this form would bring me joy, which was something he always tried to deny me. On the other hand, I could reveal to Aunt Anne that I was a witch. "Okay, I will monitor your behavior this week. If, at the end, you've behaved properly and kept to the story, I will sign your form." He opened and slammed the door to go pick her up.

I couldn't believe it—there was a chance I could actually go to Hogsmeade this year! I headed up to my room to prepare for Aunt Anne. If I was going to have to act like a Muggle, I might as well start now. I put all my gifts and cards with my books under the loose floorboard in the room. I thought for a minute before pulling out the picture Edward had given me and putting it back on my bedside table. I walked over to Venus's cage, where she and Errol were still sleeping. I poked her and she looked at me.

"You're going to have to leave for the week," I said sadly. "Don't look at me like that! It's the only way I can go to Hogsmeade with my friends. Go to Edward's for the week—I'll write him a note explaining what's going on." I pulled out a quill and a piece of parchment and quickly wrote down about Aunt Anne and Uncle John's deal. I watched sadly as Venus and Errol flew off, then walked downstairs to wait for Aunt Anne.

I didn't have to wait long—she and Uncle John walked through the door a minute later. Uncle John had all her bags in his hand while Aunt Anne had her one dog on a leash. He growled when he saw me, so I darted to the side to avoid him. Uncle John forced the bags in my hands and told me to bring them up to Aunt Anne's room. Happy to do anything to avoid Aunt Anne, I slowly brought her stuff up and took my time putting everything away.

When I walked into the kitchen 20 minutes later, Aunt Samantha was pouring Aunt Anne a cup of tea and April was bringing her a plate of cookies. The television in the kitchen had the news on. "…the public should be warned that Black is armed and extremely dangerous. A special hotline has been set up. Any sightings should be reported immediately." A picture flashed on the screen, and a man with long black hair and a gaunt face was shown.

I sighed before taking a seat.

"So you're still here, are you?" Aunt Anne snapped when she saw me.

"Yes."

"Don't say yes in that ungrateful tone. You're lucky Samantha and John were kind enough to take you in. If you'd been left on my doorstep, I would have sent you straight to the orphanage." I wanted to say I'd rather live at the orphanage than here, but I stopped, remembering the form. "Where do you send her again, John?"

"St. Marie's. It's the best place for troubled girls."

"Excellent. Do they use corporal punishment?" she asked.

"Uhh," I said, looking at Uncle John. He gave me a short nod. "Uhh, yeah they do. All the time."

"Excellent. I don't believe in this sissy nonsense of not hitting children who deserve it. The only way they're going to learn is if you smack them around a bit. Have you been beaten?" she asked me.

"Yeah," I said. "All the time."

"I don't like your tone, girl," she said, glaring at me. "If you can talk about your beatings that way, clearly they're not hitting you hard enough. I'd write if I were you, John. Tell then you approve of the use of extreme force in her case."

Uncle John looked uneasy. Maybe he thought I was going to say something about Hogwarts, so he changed the subject. "What about that escaped prisoner, Anne?"

***

That week was one of the worst weeks of my entire life. Normally, I stayed out of the way at River Way since Uncle John and Aunt Samantha didn't want me in their way. Aunt Anne, however, wanted me under her watch at all times. She would constantly critique my appearance and give disciplinary suggestions to the Prunleys about what to do with me. She also loved comparing me to April.

"A decent person should be a decent size. Take April, for example. She's got some meat on her. Now this one," she said, jerking her thumb in my direction, "Looks like a toothpick. I always like a healthy-sized child. If this one was a dog, I would have drowned her as soon as she was born. You can just tell that the smaller ones are no good."

I didn't say anything, but imagined feeding Aunt Anne to a hungry Norbert. That made me much happier.

All week, she would fawn over April and buy her expensive presents while glaring at me, daring me to ask her why I didn't get any. During meals, I was expected to wait on her hand and foot. Every time I sat down to eat, she would make me get up to fetch her another glass of wine while taking my food and feeding it to her dog or giving it to April. Three nights that week, I went to bed without having eaten anything all day. Luckily, I still had the candy Edward had sent me and the cake Harry had sent me for my birthday, so I was able to eat that to keep from passing out.

The only thing that got me through it was Harry. Every night, I would pull out his letters and read them. It was too bad I had sent Venus away or I would have written to him to tell him how much I missed him. I would constantly finger the necklace he gave me and a big goofy grin would appear on my face. I wanted to tell someone (besides Edward, Bella, and Rosalie) about Harry, but I knew none of the Prunleys would care.

Finally, the last night of Aunt Anne's stay came. Aunt Samantha made a fancy six course meal and Uncle John opened several bottles of wine. During the first five courses, Aunt Anne didn't talk about me once. Instead, she ate as much as she could and drank 6 glasses of wine. By the time we got to the chocolate cake, she looked like she was going to fall out of her chair.

"Can I interest you in some brandy, Anne?" Uncle John asked, pulling out a bottle of alcohol.

"Just a little," she slurred. Uncle John handed her a glass and poured some for her. "A little more…little more…that's the ticket!" She took a sip and smacked her lips loudly. "I swear, raising children is just like raising dogs. You can't blame yourself for how dogs turn out, just like you can't blame yourself for how this," she jerked her thumb at me, "Turned out. I mean, if there's something wrong with the bitch, then there's something wrong with the pup."

_Harry_, I told myself. _Think about Harry and his letters. My boyfriend, Harry Potter…_

"I mean," she continued, "If there's something wrong on the inside, then there's nothing you can do." I shut my eyes tightly and tried to keep my hands from shaking. There was a shatter and I opened my eyes. The glass in Aunt Anne's hand had exploded. Uncle John and Aunt Samantha looked at me, but Aunt Anne just laughed. "Whoops, looks like I grasped it too tightly. Don't worry, I did the same thing at Mr. Wellsburg's the other week. Now, like I was saying, it all comes down to blood. Nothing against your family, Samantha, but your sister was no good—it happens in the best family. Then she goes and runs off with old what's-his-face, and we have the result of that right here." She looked right at me.

_Alice, you haunt me dreams every night…_

"This guy, Brandon," she said loudly, interrupting my thoughts, "You never said what he did."

"He, uh, didn't work," Uncle John said, looking at me and daring me to contradict him. I didn't say anything—it was taking every fiber of self control in my body to keep from cursing Aunt Anne on the spot. "Unemployed."

"Just as I expected. He was a no-good, lazy bum who expected his wife—"

"He was NOT!" I shouted, rising to my feet and staring at Aunt Anne with hatred in my eyes. I had never felt so angry in my life, not even when Aro Voltri tried to kill Rosalie through the diary at the end of last year.

"MORE BRANDY!" Uncle John shouted. "You—get to your room now, girl," he snarled, seizing me by the back of my shirt and pulling me towards the stairs.

"No, John, let her talk. Proud of your parents, are you? They go and get themselves killed in a car accident (probably drunk)—"

"They didn't die in a car crash!" I shouted, shaking all over.

"Yes they did, you nasty little liar! They died and left you to be the burden of their decent, hard-working relatives." Her giant face was swelling with fury. "You ignorant, ungrateful, good-for-nothing little—"

Aunt Anne stopped talking right away. At first, I thought she had lost her train of thought—she had had a lot to drink after all. Instead, she started blowing up like a balloon. The buttons on her skirt popped off and flew everywhere. One of them hit April on the face and she dropped to the floor. Her fingers started expanding until they were the size of sausages. She started getting larger and larger until she was the size of a Macy's parade float.

"ANNE!" Uncle John shouted, grabbing his sister's foot as she floated into the air. Aunt Anne's dog leaped at Uncle John and latched onto his leg with his teeth. "OWW!" he screamed as the dog's teeth sunk further into his skin. Uncle John tried to pull Aunt Anne back down to the ground, but he was lifted off the ground himself as she flew out the door and started rising into the air like a giant balloon.

I seized my chance—I ran to the front hall to where my stuff was stashed. The closet magically sprung open and I pulled my trunk out. I pushed the trunk to the front door before sprinting upstairs to grab the rest of my things. I opened the loose floor board and grabbed my books, birthday gifts and letters from all my friends. I grabbed Venus's cage and the picture before bringing everything downstairs. I threw everything in my trunk and opened the door, ready to leave the house.

Uncle John grabbed me. "COME BACK HERE AND OUT HER RIGHT!" he shouted, trying to pull me in the house. I grabbed my wand and pointed it at his throat.

"LET ME GO!" I shrieked as my wand sparked. He backed up. "She deserved it! She deserved what she got! She insulted my parents, and I hope she floats away!"

He stared at me, eyes opened wide and mouth hanging open. For the first time in Uncle John's life, he didn't have anything mean to say to me.

"I'm out of here—I can't stand to be here another minute!" With that, I slammed the door and headed out into the night, pulling my trunk behind me. I didn't know where I was going, and I didn't care. I would be happy to go anywhere except 3 River Way.


	22. It's Going to be a Bumpy Ride

Chapter 21: It's Going to be a Bumpy Ride

**AN: Thanks for all the reviews guys.**

This was it. I was a criminal. I had broken the Decree for the Restriction of Underage Wizardry—I was surprised the Ministry officials hadn't descended on the street. I had been walking for twenty minutes before I finally collapsed on the corner of Magnolia Crescent. I took a seat on the curb and put my trunk right next to me.

Well, I was going to be expelled. I had blown up my Aunt and left her. I had done serious magic in front of Muggles. I would be lucky if they didn't send me to Azkaban for what I had done. And since Venus was off staying with Edward, I couldn't even tell anyone or send for help. I was either going to have to pull my trunk all the way to London or I was going to have to wait here until the Ministry found me.

I looked down at my stuff—there was no way I could walk all the way to London pulling this. I didn't have any Muggle money to pay for a cab or a bus. Well, since I was already expelled, doing more magic wouldn't hurt. I could put a spell on my trunk to make it light, tie it to my broomstick and fly to London under the Invisibility cloak so I could get all my gold and go on the run.

I pulled out my wand, but I realized I wasn't alone. I felt someone watching me. I turned to look around me, but didn't see anyone. I bent over my trunk, but felt the same feeling of being watched. Then, I heard them move. I tried to see further down the street, but it was too dark to see more than a few feet in front of me.

"_Lumos_," I muttered, and the tip of my wand lit up. I peered down the street when I saw it—a great big black dog. It couldn't be a dog—it was too big! The wolf dog stared at me with his black eyes and took a step towards me. I probably looked like a midnight snack to him. Well, I wasn't going to stand here and become doggy chow willingly. I turned to run when I tripped over my trunk and fell on the ground. Great, I was becoming a total klutz like Bella. I looked over at the dog and saw he was still walking towards me. I threw my hand with my wand up in the air to protect myself when there was a bang.

A large blue bus appeared at the curb in front of me. The doors slid open and a guy who didn't look older than 20 stepped out. He kept his eyes on a note card he was reading from. "Hello and welcome to the Knight Bus, ideal transportation for the stranded witch or wizard. Just stick out your wand, step on board, and we'll take you wherever you need to go. My name is Stan Shunpike and I'll be your—wot you doing there on the ground?" he asked when he spotted me on the pavement.

"I fell over," I said, getting up and dusting myself off.

"'Choo fall over for?" he asked, suppressing a laugh.

"I didn't do it on purpose," I said, defending myself. I looked down at myself—my jeans were ripped, my sweater was falling off my shoulder, and my black tee shirt was covered in dirt from the ground. Great, this is exactly how I wanted someone to find me. I remembered the black dog and turned towards where it had been, but it had disappeared.

"'Choo looking at?" Stan asked.

"Nothing. You said this bus goes _anywhere_?"

"Sure. Well, anywhere on land—we don't do nufink underwater. Ain't that right, Ern?"

"Ay," the bus driver said.

"Now, where you going?" Stan asked.

"London," I said.

"That's eleven sickles," he told me. I handed him the money, and he pulled my trunk and empty birdcage onto the bus and put them on a shelf over a bed. "You can 'ave this one," he said quietly.

Next to me, there was an older wizard sleeping. I heard him mutter, "No, I'll keep the ballerina toad for tonight," in his sleep, and I had to keep my hand over my mouth to stop from laughing. There was another loud bang, and the Knight Bus pulled away from the curb. I was thrown onto my bed, which was moving all around. I pulled myself up and looked out the window—we were now far away from River Way and moving noisily down the road.

"How come the Muggles don't hear it?" I asked.

"Them? They don't pay attention enough to notice stuff." Stan shook his head before he glanced at my forehead. "Wot's your name?"

"Uh, Lavender," I said quickly, smoothing my bangs over my scar.

Stan shrugged his shoulders and pulled out a copy of the _Daily Prophet_. He opened it and I was able to see the picture on the front: the same convict who had been on the news at Aunt Samantha and Uncle John's.

"Him!" I said, pointing at the paper. "He was on the Muggle News!"

"Sirius Black. 'Course he was, Lavender. Where have you been, under a rock?" He handed the paper to me and I read the article accompanying the picture:

_**Black Still at Large  
**__Sirius Black, the most infamous prisoner ever imprisoned at Azkaban, is still eluding capture, Ministry officials confirmed today.  
"We are doing everything in our power to capture Black," the Minister said today. "We ask the magical community to remain calm and to notify the proper offices with any sightings of Black." The Minister has been criticized recently for alerting the Muggle Prime Minister of Black's escape. "Well, I had to," he said. "Black is mad. He's a danger to anyone who gets in his way—magic or Muggle."  
While Muggles have been told Black is carrying a gun (a metal wand Muggles use to kill each other), the magical community is in fear we will have a repeat of the massacre that occurred 12 years ago when Black murdered 13 people with a single curse._

"He killed thirteen people with one curse?" I gasped after I handed the paper back to Stan.

"Sure did. In front of witnesses and all—gave the Ministry a lot of trouble. Well, he was a big supporter of You-Know-'Oo

"Voldemort?" I asked without thinking. The reaction was instant: Stan's face went white and Ernie almost swerved the bus into a pole.

"'Choo say his name for?" Stan gasped when he got his voice back.

"Sorry, I forgot," I said quickly.

"Forgot—blimey, you want to get yourself killed?"

"So, Black was a supporter of You-Know-Who?" I asked, trying to get Stan back on the subject.

"Yeah, yeah, 'e was. 'E was real close to You-Know-'Oo. They say when little Alice Brandon got the best of You-Know-'Oo, Black went mad. Thought 'e'd be second-in-command once You-Know-'Oo'd taken over. Most of the supporters went quietly, but not 'im. 'E was cornered in a street somewhere when 'e pulls out his wand and blows the street up. A wizard and a dozen Muggles were killed. You know wot Black does then?"

I shook my head.

"'E _laughs_! Laughed all the way to Azkaban. 'Course 'e's mad, right, Ern?"

"Well, if he wasn't then, he is now. I don't know anyone who doesn't go mad in that place. Just thinking about them guards gives me the heebie-jeebies."

Stan nodded and turned back to his paper. I leaned my forehead against the window, feeling sick. I had broken a wizarding law—was that enough to put me in Azkaban with people like Sirius Black? The only person I knew who had been to Azkaban was Hagrid. I remembered the look of terror on his face when he found out where he was going, and Hagrid was one of the bravest people I knew…

The Knight Bus moved through the night, knocking over trashcans and telephone poles that got in its way. I laid on my bed, trying not to think about what would happen to me when the Ministry officials finally found me. Would they be waiting for me in London? Did they know where I was right now?

People started getting off the Knight Bus as we reached their destinations. None of them looked like they'd be taking another trip anytime soon. After awhile, I was the only one left.

"So, where in London, Lavender?" Stan asked.

"Diagon Alley."

"Right-o. Hold on tight." There was another loud bang and the Knight Bus started moving again. I looked outside and saw the sky was starting to get lighter. I could lie low for a few hours, empty my vault, and start my life as an outlaw. I didn't know where I would go or what I would do, but I would make sure I was as far away from London and the Ministry of Magic as I could be.

The bus moved through the streets until it came to a stop in front of the dark, run down building that was the Leaky Cauldron. Stan lifted my trunk and empty birdcage off the luggage rack, carried them down the steps of the bus, and set them on the sidewalk.

"Thanks," I said, turning to my things. I expected Stan to hop back on the bus and leave, but he was still standing there. I hope he didn't anticipate a tip after that miserable ride.

"_There_ you are, Alice," came a voice I had heard only once before. Cornelius Fudge, Minister of Magic, was rushing out of the Leaky Cauldron, a look of relief spreading across his face. Oh, crap.

"Wot didja call Lavender, Minister?" Stan asked, his eyes darting from the Minister to me to my forehead. I could feel my scar pulsing like a large neon sign.

"Lavender? This is Alice Brandon."

"I knew it! Ern! Ern! Guess 'oo Lavender is! It's Alice Brandon!"

"Yes, well, Alice and I have some matters to discuss," the Minister said, gripping my shoulder and steering me inside the Leaky Cauldron. We walked past Tom, the landlord, who was smiling at us with a toothless grin.

"Can I get anything for you, Minister? Beer? Whiskey?"

"A pot of tea will be fine, Tom. And a private parlor," he said, casting a glance over his shoulder where Stan and Ernie were looking at us with increasing interest. Tom brought us a pot of tea and led us into a small room at the back of the bar. There was a couch and a large chair with a small table in the center. Fudge took a seat in the chair while I sat on the couch.

Tom placed the pot of tea, along with a plate of biscuits, on the table in front of me. Fudge poured himself a cup of tea, took a biscuit, then turned to look at me.

"Alice, I am Cornelius Fudge, the Minister of Magic." I already knew this, but I couldn't tell Fudge this. The first time I had seen Fudge had been in one of my visions. The second time had been in Hagrid's hut with Edward, both of us under the Invisibility cloak. "Well, Alice, you gave us a scare there. Running away from your Aunt and Uncle's in the middle of the night. We thought—well, you're here now, that's all that matters."

For some reason, Fudge looked extremely relieved to see me, like he thought I was dead or something.

"Alice, eat something! You look like death, dear." He handed me a biscuit. "Now, Ministry officials have been dispatched to River Way, where they dealt with the unfortunate incident involving Miss Anne Prunley. They were able to pull her down, deflate her, and modify her memory. She has no recollection of the incident, so no harm, no foul."

I looked at him, stunned. I felt my mouth drop open. Fudge must have noticed.

"Ah, you must be worrying about the reaction of your aunt and uncle. They said as long as you stay at Hogwarts for Christmas and Easter holidays, they will allow you to return for the summer."

"I _always_ stay at Hogwarts for Christmas and Easter," I said. "And I never want to go back there again!"

"Now, Alice, I'm sure you'll feel differently once you've had a chance to cool down. After all, they are your family. Now, you'll need somewhere to stay for the rest of the summer. I can talk to Tom to see if he can get a room for you here—"

"What about my punishment?" I blurted out before I could stop myself.

"Excuse me?"

"I broke the law! I did magic outside of school! I broke the Statute of Secrecy!"

"My dear girl, we don't send people to Azkaban for simply blowing up their aunts! Surely, you don't _want_ to be expelled, do you?"

"No," I muttered.

"Then, what's all the fuss about? Now, you stay here while I try and find an available room for you." Fudge walked out of the room and down the hall. Something weird was going on—why was Fudge waiting for me if he wasn't here to punish me? And since when did the Minister himself get involved in simple things like underage magic? Fudge walked back in. "Room 15 is free, Alice. Now, I have one request for you."

"Okay?"

"I only ask that you stay in Diagon Alley and not wander into Muggle London. I'm sure this seems reasonable…"

"That's fine," I said quickly. Fudge turned to leave. "Minister?"

Fudge looked at me.

"Have you had any luck with Sirius Black?"

"Oh, you've heard? Well, no. This is the first time I've seen anything like this happen. Well, it's only a matter of time until he's found—the Azkaban guards have never failed. Well, goodbye, Alice." Fudge walked out of the room, leaving me alone with Tom.

"If you'll follow me, Miss Brandon, I can bring you to your room." I nodded and followed Tom down the hall until we stopped at a door. He pulled out a key and unlocked it. Inside was my trunk and empty cage. However, it was no longer empty—Venus was there, waiting for me. "That's a smart owl you've got there—she arrived a few minutes after you. Well, I'll leave you to your thoughts," he said, walking out of the room.

I laid down on my bed. I had left River Way a few hours ago, wasn't expelled, and had a few weeks without the Prunley's. Life couldn't be better.

***

For the next week, I had absolute freedom. Well, I had absolute freedom in Diagon Alley. But really, I had no reason to leave Diagon Alley since I could get everything I needed there. I visited Gringotts and refilled my bag with gold, then spent the rest of my time there emptying it.

Every morning, I had breakfast at the Leaky Cauldron. Tom would bring me a plate of pancakes with maple syrup and a glass of orange juice. I would eat while watching all the different people come in and out of the restaurant. There were witches, wizards, dwarfs, and I swear I saw a troll once.

After I ate, I would go out and explore Diagon Alley. Instead of finishing my homework under my covers at night, I was able to do it at Florean Fortescue's ice cream parlor. In addition to helping me with my History of Magic essay, he gave me free ice cream every hour. If I kept coming back here, they were going to have to roll me onto the Hogwarts Express.

Every day I passed shops, I was tempted to splurge my gold on things like a crystal set of the planets or a gold set of scale, but the thing that tempted me the most was sitting in the front window of Quality Quidditch Supplies.

The Firebolt.

The fastest broom. Brand new. Price on request.

I didn't even want to know how much gold that would cost, all I knew is I wanted it. If I had one of them, I would wipe that smug grin right off of Malfoy's face. I sighed and walked past the shop and into Flourish and Blotts to buy my spell books for the year. No matter how much I wanted the broom, I had to think about how humiliating it would be to have to ask the Prunley's for money for books.

When I walked in the store, I was surprised to see a large cage with hundreds of books in them. Each book had a pair of claws. I pulled out my list and saw _The Monster Book of Monsters_ on the list. I understood why Hagrid said it would be useful this year. Well, that saved me the hassle of fishing one of those dangerous books out of the cage.

The manager of the store walked up to me, his hair sticking out. "Hogwarts? Come to get your books?" he asked in a panicky voice.

"Yes. I need—"

"Out of the way!" he shouted, grabbing a long pole from the wall and heading over to the cage of _The Monster Book of Monsters_.

"Wait!" I called before he reached in and grabbed a book. "I already have one of those."

"Oh thank god!" he breathed. "I've already been bitten five times this morning. Well, is there anything I can help you with?"

"Yes. I need _Unfogging the Future_."

"Ah, starting Divination? Follow me." He led me to a table in the back where there were a bunch of different books. They all seemed to be on predicting the future. I was looking at one called_ Predicting the Unpredictable_ when I saw it. The black dog from Magnolia Crescent.

"Here you are," the manager said, bringing a book over to me, but I wasn't listening. My eyes were fixed on the dog, which was on the cover of a book about death omens. The manager followed my eyes and saw what I was looking at. "Oh, I wouldn't read that. You'll start seeing death omens everywhere you look."

I ignored him and kept staring at the book. The dog from Magnolia Crescent had the same gleaming eyes…

"Anything else?" the manager asked, pressing the book into my hands.

"Yes," I said, tearing my eyes away from the book. "I need _Intermediate Transfiguration_ and _The Standard Book of Spells: Grade Three_." The manager helped me find them. I paid for my books and left the ship with them under my arm. I walked back to the Leaky Cauldron, said hello to Tom, then made my way up to my room, where I dumped the books on my bed.

"It can't have been a death omen," I said aloud to no one. "It was just a dog. Death isn't following me."

Venus hooted in her cage.

***

I started looking for Bella, Edward, and Rosalie in Diagon Alley since they said they would be here this week. I hadn't seen them yet, but I saw plenty of other students. I ran into Angelina Johnson and her mom in the Leaky Cauldron when I was coming back to chill in my room. Her mom insisted on buying me lunch. Angelina and I spent the whole time talking about boys with her mom giving us advice on how to land the perfect wizard.

I saw Wood by himself in Quality Quidditch Supplies. He was ogling the Firebolt with me. Before he left to meet his parents, he turned to me.

"So, where are your friends?"

"I dunno. They're supposed to be here this week," I said, looking around to see if I spotted Bella, Edward, or Rosalie. "Well, they were all out of the country, so maybe they're not back yet."

Wood shrugged his shoulders and left, reminding me the first Quidditch practice was the first Saturday of school. Shaking my head, I headed back to my room.

I also saw Harry and his family one day. He introduced me to his mom, who had red hair, and his dad, who looked just like him. They were both happy to finally meet Harry's girlfriend and let him spend the day with me while they bought his school supplies. The two of us sat at the ice cream shop and talked until it got dark and Harry had to leave to go home. He gave me a hug before he left and made me promise to find him on the Hogwarts Express.

The day before I had to head to King's Cross Station, I was wondering if Bella, Edward, and Rosalie had all been here and I just hadn't seen them. I was heading over to admire the Firebolt when someone shouted my name.

"ALICE! ALICE!"

I spun around and saw Bella, Edward, and Rosalie all sitting in Florean Fortescue's, eating sundaes, waving frantically at me. I ran over with a smile on my face.

"Finally," I said to them, pulling up a chair. "I thought you all had come and left."

"We got here this morning," Rosalie said, brushing out her blonde curls. I looked her over—Egypt had done wonders for her. She was extremely tan and her normally blonde hair was almost white. She'd gotten taller and now had the appearance of a Roman goddess instead of a Hogwarts student. "We stopped in the Leaky Cauldron, but they said you'd already left for the day. We checked Flourish and Blotts, Madam Malkin's—"

"I got all my stuff last week," I said. "How did you know I was at the Leaky Caldron?"

"Dad," she said simply.

"Did you _really_ blow up your aunt?" Bella asked. She looked great too. France had turned her normally pale skin light brown and had lightened her brown hair. She was staring at me, waiting for an answer.

"It was an accident," I said defensively while Edward started laughing. "You would have blown her up to if she started insulting your parents."

"Oh, shut up, Edward," Bella snapped. "Alice is lucky she wasn't expelled!"

"I know," I said. "I thought I was going to be arrested. Do you know why Fudge let me off?" I asked Rosalie.

"Probably because it's you," she said, ignoring a group of boys who were staring at her with hungry stares. "They'd probably chuck me in Azkaban if I did something like that. Mind you, they'd have to dig me up since Mum would kill me first. Anyways, why don't you ask him yourself—we're all staying at the Leaky Cauldron tonight, so you can go to King's Cross with us tomorrow."

"What's that?" I asked Bella, pointing to an overloaded bag by her feet.

"My books," she said simply.

"But there's so many!" I exclaimed.

"Well, I'm taking more subjects than all of you," she reminded me. "Care of Magical Creatures, Arithmancy, Divination, Muggle Studies—"

"_Why_ are you taking Muggle Studies?" Edward asked. "You are Muggle Born. You were raised as a Muggle. Your parents are Muggles. You know everything about Muggles!"

"But it will be different studying it from a wizarding perspective," she said excitedly.

Edward rolled his eyes. "Are you planning to eat or sleep at all this year?"

She stuck her tongue out at him. "I have ten Galleons—a birthday present from Mom and Dad—and I was thinking about getting an owl. After all, Alice has Venus, Rosalie has Errol—"

"No I don't. Errol's a family owl. All I have is this pathetic heap of bones and fur," she said, pulling Scabbers out of her pocket and putting him on the table. It looked like Egypt hadn't agreed with Scabbers—he was thinner than I remembered and his fur was falling off in patches all over his body. "I want to bring him in and have him looked at—he's been ill ever since we got back from Egypt." She gently stroked him on the back while he shivered.

The four of us got up and headed over to the magical creature shop. We passed by Fred, George, Jasper, Emmett, and Lee Jordan, all of who had bulging bags from Zonko's joke shop. They all waved when they saw me. Once they passed, I looked back at Jasper the same time Emmett glanced back at our group.

We walked into the Magical Menagerie, which was extremely noisy. The store was lined with cages, with all their occupants screeching, hooting, hissing, scratching, and clawing. Bella and Edward went to go look at the animals while I went with Rosalie to have Scabbers looked at. The two of us approached the witch behind the counter.

"What can I help you with, dears?" she asked as her eyes darted to my forehead.

"It's my rat," Rosalie said, putting Scabbers on the counter while I pulled my bangs over my scar.

The witch began poking Scabbers with her finger. She lifted him in the air, inspecting him. "How old is the rat?" she asked.

"I dunno," she said. "He used to belong to my older brother."

"What powers does he have?"

"Uhh…" The truth was, Scabbers had never done anything truly remarkable except bite Malfoy on the finger during our first ride on the Hogwarts Express.

The witch's eyes roamed over Scabbers. She made a disapproving noise when she noticed he was missing a toe. "This one's been through the mill." She put Scabbers back on the counter. "A common garden rat can't be expected to live longer than three years. If you'd like something more durable…" She pointed to a cage of black rats, which began skipping in circles.

"Show-offs," Rosalie muttered darkly.

"Well, if you don't want a replacement, you can try this rat tonic." She placed a bottle of yellow liquid on the counter.

"Okay. How much—AHH!" Rosalie shrieked when something orange landed on her head. It jumped off her and onto the counter, hissing wildly at Scabbers, who was curled into a ball, looking terrified.

"CROOKSHANKS, NO!" the witch shouted. Scabbers seized the moment to run out of the store. Rosalie and I chased him, eventually finding him under a garbage can by Zonko's Joke Shop. Rosalie picked him up and shoved him into her pocket.

"What _was_ that?" she asked, smoothing her hair.

"Either a large cat or a small tiger," I said. "Where are Bella and Edward?" I asked.

"Probably getting her owl. Let's head back to the Leaky Cauldron." The two of us walked back to fin everyone else. We saw Bella and Edward there, standing by Emmett and George, who were telling a joke. Instead of holding an owl cage, Bella had something furry in her arms.

"You bought that monster?" Rosalie gasped, staring at the ginger cat.

"Isn't he beautiful?" Bella gushed, stroking the cat. He let out a purr and nuzzled against her neck.

"Bella, that think nearly took off my head and tried to eat Scabbers!"

"It was an accident. Plus, Crookshanks couldn't help it—it's his natural instinct," she said. "By the way, you forgot your rat tonic." She handed the small bottle to Rosalie, who was still looking furiously at the cat.

"Oh, good, you're back," Mrs. Weasley said, spotting all of us. "We're about to have dinner." She started shuffling everyone into the dining room. "Alice, how good to see you, dear," she said when she spotted me. I walked into the dining room and took a seat next to Rosalie, who was sitting as far away from Bella as she could. Edward sat with Bella, Percy, and Ron while Fred, George, Jasper, and Emmett sat with Rosalie and me. Percy had his chest stuck out, showing off his shining badge.

"Did you hear?" Mrs. Weasley asked, pointing to Percy. "Second one in the family!"

"And last," George muttered in my ear. Mrs. Weasley obviously heard him.

She shot a glance at George. "I see they haven't made you four," she pointed to Fred, Jasper, and Emmett, "Prefects. I don't doubt he's the last Head Boy this family will see."

"What do we want to be prefects for?" Fred asked. "It would take all the fun out of life!"

Rosalie giggled.

Mrs. Weasley glared at him. "You should really set a better example for your sister," she reminded them.

"Rosalie's got other brothers to set a good example for her," Percy said smugly, thrusting his chest out.

"We tried to shut him in a pyramid," Fred whispered to me, "But Mum caught us."

I laughed silently while Percy turned to Mr. Weasley. "How are we getting to the station, Father?"

"The Ministry is providing a couple of cars. It's a good thing too, since we haven't gotten ours anymore."

"Why are they giving us cars?" Percy asked.

"It's all because of you, Perce," George said, throwing an arm around his shoulder. "And there'll be little flags on the hoods with HB on them—"

"—for Humungous Bighead," Fred added. Everyone except Percy and Mrs. Weasley started laughing.

"Well, imagine the sight we'd make on the underground with all our luggage?" Mrs. Weasley said, shooting a glare at the twins. "It's probably to help us get there without causing a scene. Has everyone packed?"

"Ron hasn't," Percy said. "He dumped all his stuff on my bed after he got back." I saw Ron roll his eyes.

"Make sure you pack properly," Mrs. Weasley said. "We won't have much time in the morning."

After everyone had finished eating, we all felt sleepy and started heading up to our rooms. Jasper caught up with me before I reached my room.

"Hey," he said, walking next to me.

"Oh, hi," I responded. Jasper hadn't spoken to me much since the end of last year and I didn't know why.

"So Edward told me you're dating Harry Potter."

"Yeah, so?" I asked.

"Well, aren't you kind of young to have a boyfriend?"

I rolled my eyes at him. "Please."

"Hey, don't get mad. I'm just looking out for you." I stuck my tongue out at him before disappearing inside my room.

I started folding my clothes when I heard shouting next door. I walked over and peered inside. Percy was yelling at Ron and Rosalie. Ron was yelling back while Rose was searching the room, throwing things everywhere.

"What's going on?" I asked.

"My badge is missing!" Percy shouted.

"So is Scabbers' rat tonic!" Rosalie said in a panicked voice. She was rummaging through her trunk, pulling out all her clothes, books, and other supplies. Percy looked like he was ready to kill Ron. "I think I might have left it in the bar, but Mum and Dad said I'm not allowed to leave the room—they're still being cautious after last year."

"I'll get it," I said to her while Percy continued yelling at Ron about taking his badge.

"…but I didn't take it!" Ron roared back. I shook my head and walked down to the bar where I heard voices. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were sitting at the table, talking. I crouched down behind a couch so they wouldn't see me.

"…makes no sense not to tell her," Mr. Weasley said calmly. "Alice has a right to know. I keep trying to tell Fudge she should know, but he insists on treating her like she's a child."

"But she _is_ only a child, Arthur," Mrs. Weasley shrieked. "The truth would terrify her!"

"I don't want to make her terrified, but I want her to be on her guard! Molly, what would have happened if the Knight Bus hadn't picked her up? And besides, you know how Rosalie, Alice, Bella, and Edward are—they wander off and have ended up in the Forbidden Forest multiple times! If she had walked to London, I'm prepared to guess she would have died."

"But she's not dead, so what's the point of scaring her?"

"Molly, they say Sirius Black is mad, but he was clever enough to escape from Azkaban. What's to say he's not clever enough to get into Hogwarts undetected?"

"How do you even know he's after her?" Mrs. Weasley asked.

"They didn't report it in the _Daily Prophet_, but the Azkaban guards heard Black muttering in his sleep. He always said the same thing: '_at Hogwarts…at Hogwarts…'_ Black is deranged, and he wants Alice dead. In my opinion, he thinks murdering Alice will bring You-Know-Who back to power. Black lost everything the night Alice stopped You-Know-Who, and he's had twelve years to brood over that."

"Well, you must do what you think is best," Mrs. Weasley said after a minute. The two of them got up and headed upstairs. When I heard their door close, I got up from behind the couch. The rat tonic was under Rosalie's chair. I grabbed it and walked up the stairs to give it to her. I ran into Fred, George, Emmett, and Jasper, all of whom laughing as they listened to Percy yell at Ron and Rose while he disassembled the room.

"We have it," Fred whispered, holding out the badge. "We've been improving it." He showed me the badge, which now read _Bighead Boy_. I laughed forcefully before giving Rosalie the rat tonic and heading into my room. I shut the door and laid down on my bed.

So Sirius Black was after me. It explained everything: why Fudge was lenient with me, why he had been happy to see my alive, why he made me promise to stay in Diagon Alley, and why the Ministry was sending cars to bring us to the station tomorrow.

I should probably have been more scared, but I wasn't. The only thing that bothered me was the fact that my chances of going to Hogsmeade looked like zero. No one would want me in a wizarding village unsupervised while there was a deranged mad man on the loose.

People kept treating me as if I was a useless kid. I had escaped Lord Voldemort three times and survived—didn't that prove I was capable of taking care of myself? "I'm not going to be murdered!" I said aloud, trying to convince myself more than anyone else.

Venus hooted softly in her cage.


	23. Fainting Spells

Chapter 22: Fainting Spells

**AN: Woo thanks for the reviews!**

The next morning, I woke up to Tom smiling at me and bringing me a plate of tea and biscuits. I crawled sleepily out of bed and quickly jumped in the shower. I let the warm water flow down my body as I washed my hair with my lilac shampoo. Once I was all clean, I wrapped a fluffy towel around myself and walked back into my room where I pulled on a pair of jeans, a white tank top, and a pink sweater. I was brushing my hair when Rosalie walked into my room, pulling a sweatshirt over her head.

"The sooner we get on the train, the better. Percy's driving me insane—he's accusing me of dripping tea on his picture of Emily Call. You know, his _girlfriend_." She made a gagging noise. "Well, she's hidden on the die of the frame since her nose is all splotchy now."

"I have something to tell you," I said quietly. Before I could tell her, Fred, George, Emmett, and Jasper all walked in. They gave Rosalie a high five for annoying Percy. Then, Fred carried my trunk downstairs while Emmett went to go help Rosalie with her things.

When I walked into the dining room, Mr. Weasley was talking with Edward's grandfather about Sirius Black while Mrs. Weasley and Edward's grandmother served everyone food. I took a seat next to Bella and Edward. Rosalie came in the room a few minutes later with Emmett carrying her things. She gave him a smile, then sat with Bella, Edward, and I.

"What did you want to tell me?" she whispered, but I shook my head. Fred, George, Emmett, and Jasper were walking over to sit with us, and I didn't want them overhearing. Percy walked in, looking furious. He shot a glare in Rosalie's direction before taking a seat next to his father.

I didn't have a chance to talk to Rosalie, Bella, or Edward while we were leaving: it was too chaotic. The boys carried all the trunks down to the curb while Bella, Rosalie, and I carried the animal cages down. I placed Venus' cage on top of my trunk while Hermes, Percy's owl, went next to her and Crookshanks, in a wicker carrier, was on the ground. I could hear him hissing inside.

"Don't worry, baby," Bella cooed. "I'll let you out on the train."

"You most certainly will not!" Rosalie snapped. "What about Scabbers?" She pointed to her pocket where Scabbers. From where I was, I could even tell he was shaking.

The cars from the Ministry pulled up alongside the curb. One Ministry official jumped out of each car and started loading the trunks into the back of each one. I climbed in the back seat of the first one, followed by Bella, Edward, Rosalie, and Ron. Mr. Weasley climbed in the front seat before the car pulled away from the curb and headed to King's Cross Station.

When we arrived at the station, we still had twenty minutes before the train left. The Ministry workers unloaded our trunks, placed them on trolleys, then tipped their hats to Mr. Weasley before hopping back in the cars and speeding away.

Mr. Weasley didn't leave my side the entire journey to the barrier. "Okay," he said. "Let's do this in pairs since there are so many of us. I'll go first with Alice." He grabbed my trolley and started pushing it towards the barrier. We both pretended to be interested in the arriving train on platform 9 as we leaned against the barrier.

A moment later, I had fallen on top of Mr. Weasley onto platform 9 ¾. The Hogwarts Express was waiting there and tons of people were racing around it, loading trunks onto the train and reminding their children to remember their pet toads.

We moved aside so everyone else could get through. Next came Rosalie and Percy, who were panting. They had obviously taken it at a run. "Ah, there's Emily," Percy said, smoothing his clothes and patting his hair down as he walked over to a pretty girl with long black hair. He stuck his chest out so she couldn't miss his shiny badge. Rosalie and I had to cover our mouths so he wouldn't hear us laughing.

The rest of the Weasleys, along with Jasper, Emmett, Edward, and Bella joined us on the platform. Mrs. Weasley gave all of us, including Jasper, Edward, Emmett, Bella, and me, a hug. "Behave," she warned the twins, Jasper, and Emmett. "I made you all sandwiches. Here you go, Rose…Fred, here."

"He's not Fred, I am."

"Sorry, Fred. Here you go."

"Only joking, I really am Fred," Fred said, snatching the sandwich out of his mother's hand and jumping onto the train. George, Emmett, and Jasper followed him, probably going to search for Lee Jordan, their other friend.

Mrs. Weasley shook her head and turned back to the rest of us, passing out food for us to eat on the train. "Alice, can you come over here a moment?" Mr. Weasley asked quietly. I nodded and followed him over towards a pillar, far enough away from Mrs. Weasley that she wouldn't hear us. "There's something I want to tell you before you leave—"

"It's okay. I already know."

"You do? But how could you possibly—"

"I accidentally overheard you last night—sorry."

"That's not the way I would have chosen for you to find out."

"No, it's okay. You haven't broken your word to Fudge, and I still know what's going on."

"You must be frightened," Mr. Weasley said, looking anxious.

"I'm not," I said. "_Really_," I added when I saw the disbelief on Mr. Weasley's face. "I mean, Sirius Black can't be any worse than Voldemort."

Mr. Weasley flinched when I said the name. "I knew you were made of stronger stuff than Fudge seems to think, but I want you to promise me something."

"That I'll be a good little girl and stay in the castle?"

"Not exactly. Promise me you won't go _looking_ for Black."

"Why would I go looking for a nutter who wants to kill me?"

"Just promise me—whatever you may hear—you won't try to find Black on your own."

"Arthur, the train!" Mrs. Weasley shouted. Smoke was billowing out of the scarlet engine, and it had started to move. I sprinted for the train and managed to jump into the car where Rosalie, Edward, and Bella were waiting for me. We waved goodbye to the Weasleys until they disappeared around the corner.

"I need to talk to you three now," I said quietly. They nodded and we walked through the train, searching for an empty compartment. I knew I was supposed to find Harry, but this took priority over meeting my boyfriend.

We made our way to the back of the train, but didn't see any empty compartments. "Let's sit here," Bella said, pulling open the door where a man was sleeping. He looked relatively young with light brown hair and shabby robes. He would be cute if he didn't look so worn out. He had bags under his eyes and streaks of grey in his hair.

"Who do you think he is?" Edward asked, sitting down next to him.

"Professor R. J. Lupin," Bella whispered.

"How do you know everything?"

"I can read," she sighed. "It's on his suitcase." She pointed to a beat-up case with the words _Professor R. J. Lupin_ written in gold letters, which were peeling off the suitcase.

"Wonder what he teaches," Rosalie said aloud.

"That's obvious," Bella whispered. "There's only one vacancy. Defense Against the Dark Arts."

"Well, I hope he's up to it," Edward said. "He looks like one good hex would finish him off. Anyways, what did you want to tell us, Alice?"

Quietly, I told them everything Mr. and Mrs. Weasley had said and the warning Mr. Weasley had given me before I got on the train today. I expected them to laugh it off and tell me it was nothing, but I was wrong. Edward looked horrified, Rosalie's face went white, and Bella clasped her hands over her mouth.

"Sirius Black escaped to come after you?" Bella gasped. "Alice, you have to be really careful. Don't go looking for trouble—"

"I don't look for trouble," I said, offended. "Trouble usually finds me."

"Why would Alice try to find the nut job who wants to do her in?"

Rosalie looked at me. "No one knows how he got out of Azkaban. No one's ever done it before, and he was a high-security prisoner, too."

"They'll catch him, won't they?" Bella asked, her eyes wide. "I mean, they have the Muggles looking for him too."

"What's that noise?" Rosalie said suddenly. A high-pitched buzzing noise was coming from my trunk. I opened the lid and pulled out the Sneakoscope, which began spinning in the palm of my hand and glowing brightly.

"Is that a Sneakoscope?" Bella asked, grabbing it out of my hand and staring at it intently. Her index finger grazed against my palm as she took it.

"_Uh, Mr. Black—Sirius?" Bella asked tentatively, looking at the filthy man who was glaring at a shorter and rounder man. He jumped when she addressed him and looked at her. "If you don't mind me asking, how did you escape from Azkaban if you didn't use Dark Magic?"_

"_Thank you!" the short man gasped, nodding at Bella with as much enthusiasm as he could muster. "Exactly! Precisely what I—"_

_There was a loud smack as Professor Lupin slapped the short man across the face. "Be quiet!"_

_Black stood there for a minute, pondering his answer. "I don't know how I did it," he said slowly. "The only reason I think I held onto my sanity was because I knew I was innocent. I knew I didn't do it. It wasn't a happy thought, so the dementors couldn't suck it out of me, but it kept me in my right mind so I never lost my marbles. When the time came, I was able to transform into a dog in my cell. Dementors can't see—they sense people by feeding off their emotions. They could tell I was less human when I was a dog, but they thought I was losing my mind—everyone does in that place. I wanted to get away, but I had no hope of driving off all those dementors without a wand."_

_He looked at me._

"_Then I saw Peter in that picture. I realized he was at Hogwarts with you, Alice. He was perfectly positioned to act if word got back to him that his old master was gaining power again. If he could be sure his allies had the strength and numbers, he could deliver the final Brandon to them. If he handed Alice over to Lord Voldemort, no one would dare call him a traitor again."_

_The short man was shaking his head furiously. Lupin had his wand pointed at the man's neck while Black ignored him and continued._

"_I had to do something. I was the only one who knew Peter was still alive."_

_Bella gasped. "Alice told us how the guards kept saying you were muttering in your sleep. 'At Hogwarts…At Hogwarts…' We thought you were talking about Alice, but you meant Peter all along, didn't you?"_

_Black nodded. "It was an obsession. It wasn't a happy thought, so the dementors couldn't suck it away, but it gave me the strength I needed to clear my mind. One night, when they opened my door to feed me, I transformed into the dog and slipped past them. I was thin enough to slip through the bars. I swan back to the mainland and went to Hogwarts to protect you, Alice."_

"Do you know a lot about Hogsmeade?" Bella was asking Edward and Rosalie. When she saw I was conscious again, she turned her full attention to me. "What did you see?" she asked quietly.

"I don't know," I said, thinking back to my vision. "We were all somewhere. And there were three men with us. One of them was Professor Lupin. One of them was a short fat man. And one of them was Sirius Black."

"_Sirius Black_?" Rosalie squealed, her blue eyes getting wider. "What was he doing? Was he killing you?"

"No," I said, shaking my head. "He was saying something, but I can't remember. The visions disappear as quickly as they come, but I remember him saying something about a dog. And someone named Peter. Does that mean anything to you three?" I asked. They all shook their heads. "Oh well. It's probably nothing."

"You should tell Dumbledore," Bella said. "He'd want to know about this. What if it's a clue to how Black escaped?"

"Bella, these glimpses aren't reliable. I don't even know what I'm seeing." I sighed and leaned back in my seat.

Bella was looking at me, trying to make me do what she wanted.

"Bella, she's not going to tell him, so drop it," Rosalie sighed. "Anyways, I can't wait until the first Hogsmeade weekend. Fred and George have told me all about it, and it sounds like a blast."

"Yeah, Emmett was always going on about it."

"I heard it's the only entirely magical community in all of Britain," Bella said.

"Who cares about that. All I want to do is go into Honeydukes!" Edward exclaimed, grinning from ear to ear.

"Is that supposed to mean something to me?" Bella asked, looking at him with raised eyebrows.

"You've never heard of Honeydukes? It's only the best candy shop in the entire world! Emmett used to bring me back stuff from there. They have everything you could ever dream of and more. There're Pepper Imps which make your mouth smoke, huge Chocoballs filled with strawberry mousse and sweet cream, Sugar Quills so you can suck on them in class—"

"Isn't Hogsmeade full of history, too?" Bella asked. "In _Sites of Historical Sorcery_, they said the inn was headquarters for the 1612 goblin rebellion and the Shrieking Shack is the most haunted building in Britain—"

"—sherbert balls that let you levitate a few inches off the ground while you eat them, and the best fudge you will ever taste!" Edward finished, ignoring everything Bella had just said.

"It'll be nice to get out of school once in a while," Rosalie added. "Don't you think so, Alice?"

"I s'pose so. You'll have to let me know how it is."

"What?"

"I can't go—my aunt and uncle didn't sign my form."

"You're kidding!" Edward said, looking horrified. "You have to be able to go! I mean, maybe McGonagall will give you permission—"

"Ha," I said dryly. McGonagall giving me permission to go to Hogsmeade was about as likely as Snape being named Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher.

"I could get Fred to forge a signature," Rosalie suggested. "No one would ever know the difference—"

"Rose!" Bella scolded. "I don't think Alice should be leaving the castle with Black on the loose. Especially if he _is_ after her."

"You're right," I sighed. "And I'm pretty sure that's what McGonagall will say when I ask her."

"But we're with her," Edward protested. "I don't think Black would—"

"Edward, he murdered 13 people with a single curse. If he really wants Alice, I don't think three teenage wizards are going to stop him." She was undoing the latch on Crookshanks' crate.

"Don't let that thing out!" Rosalie hissed, but it was too late. Crookshanks walked out of his crate and leapt onto Rosalie's lap. I saw the pocket in Rosalie's sweatshirt shaking. "Get away from me," Rosalie said angrily, pushing the cat off her lap.

"Rosalie, stop," Bella pleaded, but Rose ignored her.

During the trip, people kept popping in and out of our carriage. Fred, George, Emmett, Jasper, and Lee stopped by to hang out of a bit. Before they left, Edward gave Emmett a warning from Carlisle while Fred and George reminded their sister in no uncertain terms that she was not old enough to date yet.

After they left, it seemed like every male on the train wanted to talk to us. Except instead of talking, they mostly stared at Rosalie. I could tell she liked the attention, but she started getting annoyed with it after the tenth boy left our compartment.

"It's like they've never seen a girl before!" she sighed.

"Rose, they've never seen a girl who looks like you. Face it, you're going to get a lot of guys asking you to go with them to Hogsmeade this year."

"Great. Too bad I'm not old enough to date, according to my nosy brothers."

"Oh, ignore them," Bella said, pulling out a book from her trunk. "They're just acting the way ever older brother is going to act when every male at their school, including their friends, wants to date their baby sister." Crookshanks settled behind her legs and began purring.

Rosalie pulled out her chess set and challenged Edward to a game while I stared out the window.

Even though he didn't say anything, Professor Lupin was good company. Sometime in the afternoon, Malfoy, flanked by Crabbe and Goyle, walked into our compartment, probably with the intention of torturing my friends and me.

"Well, look what we have here," he sneered. "Scarface with her faithful sidekicks Weaselette, Q-Tip, and the Mudblood. I heard you got a boyfriend, Scarface. Did he hit his head or something?" I stood up, accidentally knocking Bella's book onto the ground. Professor Lupin grunted in his sleep. "Who's that?" Malfoy asked.

"New teacher," Edward said grinning. We were safe now—Malfoy would never pick a fight with a teacher right there. "What were you saying, Malfoy?"

"Let's go," he muttered as he, Crabbe, and Goyle left the compartment. Crabbe shook his fist threateningly at Edward before he left.

"You know, I don't think he likes you, Edward," I said. "I wonder if he's still bitter about the baboon butt comment you made to him the first day on the train." Edward shrugged his shoulders and went back to his chess game with Rosalie.

The door opened again and Harry walked in. He took a seat next to me and put his arm around my shoulders. "Hey, how are you?"

"Good," I said, smiling at him. "How was the rest of your summer?"

Harry and I talked while Rosalie crushed Edward in chess, Bella read, and Professor Lupin slept. After we had been traveling for a while, the train came to a stop. I looked out the window and saw the rain pelting the train. The lights inside the compartment went out and I shivered. For some reason, it seemed to be getting unnaturally cold in here.

"Are we there?" Edward asked.

"I don't think so," came Bella's voice. "We still have another hour to go."

"Then why are we stopped?"

"Beats me," Bella said. I couldn't see anything, but I got the feeling someone was coming towards us. I started shaking, but I didn't know why. Bella and Edward were fighting about something, and it wasn't helping anything.

"Quiet," a hoarse voice said. Apparently, Professor Lupin had woken up. "All of you stay where you are," he ordered. I heard him stand up and move towards the door, but someone else opened it before him. Professor Lupin lit the tip of his wand and pointed it towards our new companion.

The creature there was almost six feet tall and covered in a long black cloak. Its face was hidden beneath the hood. The creature sucked in a rasping breath, and I started to feel colder. It was as if this creature had sucked all the warmth from inside me, all the way down to my heart.

Everything went black and all I could hear was a woman screaming, pleading for her life.

"Please, have mercy!" she begged. I tried to move, but I was weighted down by some invisible force. I had to find her and help her.

"Alice! Alice! Are you okay?" someone shouted, shaking me. I opened my eyes and the first thing I noticed were the lights on in the compartment.

"What—what happened?" I asked, trying to sit up. Bella, Edward, Rosalie, and Harry were all looking at me. I felt the floor shaking, which meant the train was moving again. I moved my head to my forehead to push the hair out of my face, and my skin was all clammy. Bella pulled me up and helped me onto my seat.

"Are you okay?" Rose asked.

"Yeah, I think so," I said. "What happened? Where did the creature go? Who screamed?"

Edward looked from Rosalie to Bella to Harry. "No one screamed, Alice," he said quietly.

"But I heard screaming," I protested. I jumped when I heard a snapping sound. I looked around and saw Professor Lupin breaking a slab of chocolate into little pieces. He handed each of us one, mine being the largest.

"Eat this," he said, handing a smaller piece to Bella. "It will help."

"What was that thing?" Harry asked.

"A dementor," he said. "One of the dementors of Azkaban."

We all stared at him.

"Eat," he said. "I have to go speak to the conductor, if you'll excuse me." He walked out of the compartment, leaving the five of us alone.

"I have to go," Harry said, standing up. "I want to make sure Ron and Hermione are okay. Are you sure you're fine, Alice?" he asked. I nodded, and he kissed me on the top of my head before disappearing.

"So, what happened?" I asked, turning to Bella, Edward, and Rosalie.

Bella looked at me. "Well, that thing—the dementor—it stood there and looked around…well, I think it did. I mean, I couldn't see its face. And then you—you—"

"I thought you were having a fit or something," Edward said, still looking slightly worried. "You fell out of your seat and started twitching on the ground. No one knew what to do."

"Professor Lupin stepped over you wand walked toward the dementor and pointed his wand at the thing. He said 'None of us are hiding Sirius Black. Go.' But the thing didn't move, so he shot some silvery stuff out of his wand and the dementor left."

"It was horrible," Edward whispered. "Did you feel how cold it got?"

Bella nodded. "I felt like I'd never be happy again."

Rosalie was shaking in her seat in the corner and had tears falling down her face. Edward put an arm around her.

"Did any of you fall off your seats?" I asked in a small voice. They all shook their heads. I didn't understand. I felt all weak and cold, but also embarrassed. Why had I fainted while no one else had? I was stronger than that, so why had I been the only one to fall to pieces when the dementor came into our compartment?

Professor Lupin came back in and looked around at all of us. He smiled as he said, "I haven't poisoned that chocolate, you know." I took a bite of the chocolate and was stunned when a warm feeling spread through my whole body. "We'll be at Hogwarts in ten minutes. Are you okay, Alice?"

"Fine," I muttered, not bothering to ask how he knew my name. No one said much for the rest of the trip. I just sat there miserably. I wouldn't be surprised if Harry dumped me since I fainted in front of the dementors.

The train came to a stop and we got off at the Hogsmeade station. The four of us were joined by Fred, George, Jasper, Emmett, and Lee, who were preventing any guys from getting within a mile of us. Rosalie was yelling at them, threatening to write her mother about what they were doing if they didn't stop while Edward, Bella, and I were walking behind her.

The carriages, pulled by some invisible creature, brought us to the castle. We went through the iron gates surrounding Hogwarts and hopped off when they came to a stop. I was about to walk up the stairs when a voice called out to me.

"You _fainted_, Brandon? Is Potter telling the truth? You actually _fainted_?" Malfoy walked up to us, pushing Bella out of the way, with Crabbe and Goyle right behind him. I saw Harry, with Ron and Hermione, off to the side. How could he tell Malfoy what happened?

"Get lost, Malfoy," Edward said through clenched teeth.

"Did you faint as well, Cullen? Did the scary dementor frighten you as well?"

"Is there a problem here?" someone asked. Professor Lupin walked over to us, looking from Malfoy to me.

Malfoy took in Professor Lupin's appearance. Obviously, he didn't think much of his tattered robes and worn suitcase because he smirked. "No, _Professor_," he said sarcastically before beckoning Crabbe and Goyle to follow him.

Harry came to my side as I walked up the stairs to the castle. "How could you tell Malfoy?" I hissed. "You're supposed to be my boyfriend!"

"I'm sorry," he apologized. "I didn't mean to. I was telling Ron and Hermione what happened, and he walked right by us at that exact moment. I'm really sorry, Alice."

I sighed. "It's okay. You didn't mean to."

"Brandon! Swan! I want to see you both!" I spun around and saw Professor McGonagall standing there. I looked over at Bella, and she gave me a puzzled stare. "Don't worry, you didn't do anything wrong. I just want a word with you in my office. Move along Mr. Potter," she said when Harry started to come with me. I waved goodbye to him and followed Professor McGonagall to her office.

Bella and I both took a seat in front of her desk. "Miss Brandon, Professor Lupin sent an owl saying you were taken ill on the train." My face went bright red, but Madam Pomfrey walked in the room before I could respond to Professor McGonagall.

"I'm fine," I said quietly. "I don't need anything."

"Oh, it's you, is it?" Madam Pomfrey asked when she saw me. "I suppose you've been doing something dangerous like battling a large snake," she said, referring to my fight with the basilisk at the end of last term.

"It was a dementor, Poppy," Professor McGonagall said.

Madam Pomfrey went pale. "Sending dementors around the school," she muttered, shaking her head. "She won't be the only one to collapse."

"What does she need? Bed rest? Spend the night in the hospital wing?"

"I'm fine!" I exclaimed. I would never hear the end of it from Malfoy if I had to stay in the hospital wing after an encounter with the dementor.

"Well, she should at least have some chocolate."

"I already did. Professor Lupin gave it to us on the train." Bella nodded her head in agreement.

"Well, at least we have one Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher who knows his remedies."

"Are you sure you're okay, Miss Brandon."

"Yes," I sighed.

"Alright. Wait in the hall while I speak to Miss Swan." I walked out of her office and leaned against the wall while I waited for Bella and Professor McGonagall. A few minutes later, they emerged with Bella looking extremely happy about something. The three of us made our way down to the Great Hall.

"Darn, we missed the sorting," Bella groaned as we took a seat at the Gryffindor table by Edward, Rosalie, and Harry.

"What was that about?" Rosalie whispered. I started to tell her, but Professor Dumbledore stood up and cleared his throat.

"Welcome!" Dumbledore greeted us, a big smile on his face. He was in a long blue robe with silver stars on it. I felt calm for the first time since the dementor attack—Dumbledore seemed to have this effect on people. "Welcome to another year at Hogwarts. I have a few announcements before the feast, and since one of them is very serious, I think I should get it out of the way now. This year, Hogwarts will serve as home to some of the dementors of Azkaban. Dementors will be stationed at every entrance to the school, and no one is to leave the grounds without permission. Dementors are not fooled by disguises or tricks—even Invisibility cloaks." Dumbledore caught my eye and I shifted in my seat. "It is not in the nature of a dementor to understand pleading or excuses. Therefore, I warn all of you to give them no reason to harm you."

Everyone in the hall stayed quiet.

"On a happier note, I have two new staff appointments this year. First, Professor Lupin has kindly agreed to take up the position of Defense Against the Dark Arts." There was unenthusiastic applause with the exception of those of us who had been in the compartment on the train with him. Professor Lupin looked over at me and smiled briefly.

"Look at Snape!" Bella hissed. I looked over at the potions master, and the only way to describe his face was hate. He was looking at Professor Lupin with complete disgust on his face. The only time I had ever seen Snape use that look was when he saw me.

"Secondly, I am sad to say Professor Kettleburn, our Care of Magical Creatures professor, has decided to retire this year. Taking his place will be our own gamekeeper, Rubeus Hagrid." There was an explosion of applause at the Gryffindor table as I jumped up and down.

"We should have guessed!" Edward shouted over the noise. "Who else would give us a biting book?"

When the applause had died down, Dumbledore addressed us once more. "Well, that is all. Let the feast begin!"

The gold plate in front of me filled with food, and I started eating. I didn't realize how hungry I was until the first piece of food touched my tongue. I ate everything on my plate. I glanced next to me and saw Harry had filled his plate with everything on the table.

Once the feast was over, Bella, Edward, Rosalie, and I made our way to the teacher's table to see Hagrid.

"Congratulations!" Bella squealed when we saw him.

"All thanks ter you four," he said, pulling us all into a big hug. "Can' believe it…great man, Dumbledore…came straight ter me after Professor Kettleburn said he'd had enough…me, a Professor." He buried his face in his napkin, which was our cue to leave. We followed the rest of the Gryffindors up to the portrait.

"The password is Fortuna Major," Percy called, pushing his way to the front. Once we got into the common room, we said goodnight to Edward before heading up to the girls' dormitory. I stopped and gave Harry a hug before walking up the stairs.

Once we were inside, I collapsed on my bed, not even bothering to change out of my clothes. I crawled under the covers, feeling like I had finally come back home.


	24. A Gift to You

Hey all!

I'm taking a quick break from my very busy schedule of studying for finals to write this and give you an update. I know it's been forever since I've updated, so I wanted to let you know I haven't died or been abducted by aliens or something along those lines. I've just been super busy catching up on schoolwork and now studying for finals.

I also know you probably want me to update my stories. And I want to update too—I just haven't had much time!

So here is my promise to you—all of my stories that I am still updating (that haven't been completed or abandoned) will have a new, LONG chapter by December 25th. It's my Christmas gift to my devoted readers (aka YOU!) because I appreciate you and love every single one of you.

For those of you studying for finals GOOD LUCK and by next Friday, you will have a new chapter—I PROMISE!

Hugs and kisses,  
Mrs-Emmett-Cullenx3


	25. Hagrid and the Hippogriffs

Chapter 23: Hagrid and the Hippogriffs

**AN: THANK YOU FOR THE REVIEWS!**

The next morning, I woke up to the sun shining through the window of the dormitory. I hoped out of bed and changed into my robes before meeting Bella, Edward, and Rosalie in the common room and heading down to breakfast.

The first thing I saw when we entered was Draco Malfoy at the Slytherin table surrounded by a group of people. When I walked past him, he did an imitation of a fainting spell, followed by a roar of laughter by everyone around him.

"Just ignore him," Bella muttered in my ear.

"Hey, Brandon!" Pansy Parkinson yelled at me. "The dementors are coming, Brandon! Woooo."

I walked right by her and sat down at the Gryffindor table next to Fred Weasley, who was eating a bowl of oatmeal. "What's the matter, Alice?" he asked with his mouth full.

"Malfoy," Edward said, sitting across from Fred next to Bella. "He's been doing that stupid imitation of Alice since he found out she fainted last night."

"Oh, thanks for bringing it up again, Edward," I said sarcastically.

"That little git," Fred said, shooting a dark look at Malfoy, who collapsed onto the ground to the cheers of the Slytherin's. "He wasn't so cocky last night. He came running into our compartment, didn't he, George?"

"Nearly wet himself," Emmett added as George nodded in agreement.

"I wasn't happy myself," Jasper said, shivering slightly. "Those dementors are horrible creatures. Sort of freeze your insides."

"You didn't pass out, did you?" I asked glumly.

"Aw, cheer up, Alice," Fred said, throwing an arm around my shoulders. "Dad had to go to Azkaban once on Ministry business. He said it was the worst place he had ever been. He was shaking when he came back—took him a week to recover from that trip. Dementors suck the happiness out of that place. Most of the prisoners go mad within a month."

"Besides," Jasper added, "We'll see how happy Malfoy looks after our first Quidditch match. Gryffindor versus Slytherin, first game of the season!"

I smiled when he said that—last time I had played Malfoy, he had come off looking much worse. Maybe history would repeat itself. I put two hotcakes on my plate and drowned them in syrup. Across from me, Bella was engrossed in her new schedule.

"Oh, yay," she said happily. "We're starting new subjects today."

"Bells, they messed up your schedule," Edward said, grabbing the piece of parchment from her hands. "Look—they're got you down for ten subjects a day. I mean, look—nine o'clock, Divination. Underneath that, nine o'clock, Arithmancy. And _look_," he said, shocked, "Underneath that, nine o'clock, Muggle Studies. I mean, I know you're good, Bella, but no one is _that_ good. How are you supposed to be in three classes at once?"

"Don't be ridiculous, Edward. Of course I won't be in three classes at once."

"But—"

"Oh, why do you care if my schedule is a bit full? I fixed it all with Professor McGonagall."

I looked around for Harry when I noticed the Great Hall starting to empty. I looked down at my schedule and saw we had Divination first. "C'mon, guys," I said. "We have Divination, and it'll take a while to get there—the North Tower is the farthest tower from here."

Bella, Edward, and Rosalie nodded. The four of us got up from the table, said goodbye to Jasper, Emmett, and the Weasleys, then headed out of the Great Hall. I saw Emmett give Rosalie a lingering glance as we walked out, but didn't think anything of it.

We made our way down the corridors and through Hogwarts until we were panting and out of breath.

"There—has—to—be—a—shorter—way—" Edward huffed as we trudged up the stairs towards the North Tower. Eventually, we reached the landing, where the rest of the class was waiting. Dean and Seamus were leaning against the wall while Ron, Hermione, and Harry were seated in the corner.

"Alice!" Harry cried when he saw me, jumping to his feet. "Alice, I've been looking all over for you! I need to talk to you," he said, grabbing my hand.

"_Okay," I said, standing in front of the line of people with my broom slung over my shoulder, "We're going to start the chaser tryouts now. I want each of you to fly down the pitch, dodge the Beaters who will be playing the opposing chasers, and shoot on the goal."_

_I looked over the line, composed of Rosalie, Dean, Seamus, Harry, Mike Newton, Demelza Robins, Katie Bell, and Ron Weasley. Somewhere in this group were the three future chasers of the Gryffindor Quidditch team. I turned to my ex-boyfriend. "Harry, you're first," I said, attempting to smile. Even though Harry and I had been broken up for a while and we were both in new relationships, there was still the lingering pain of our messy break up._

"_Me?" he asked tentatively._

"_Yeah," I said. "There's nothing to be nervous about. Just do what I said, and try your best." I hesitantly put my hand on his shoulder._

"_You can do it, Harry!" a voice called from the stands. I looked over and saw a slender girl with pale blonde hair. Her blue robes contrasted nicely with her pale skin. She smiled widely at her boyfriend and waved while jumping up and down._

_Harry smiled at her before hopping onto his broom and pushing off into the air, dodging the opposing chasers effectively and sending the Quaffle through the goal post._

"So, do you forgive me?" he asked, staring at me with his green eyes.

"What?" I said, shaking my head so I could concentrate on the present instead of the vision.

"I said do you forgive me for telling Malfoy about you fainting on the train last night?"

"Of course I do, Harry!" I exclaimed, throwing my arms around him. "Harry, you're my boyfriend. I know you would never do anything to intentionally hurt me. So, all is forgiven, Harry." He smiled at me as we walked over to rejoin Bella, Edward, Rosalie, Ron, and Hermione.

"So, how are we supposed to get up there?" Edward asked, pointing towards the ceiling there the classroom was supposed to be. As if an invisible spirit heard him, a ladder descended, and the entire class climbed up it and into the room.

There were small tables with four chairs to each table. I winked at Harry as I went to sit with Bella, Edward, and Rosalie. In front of each of us, there was an empty light pink teacup.

"Where the heck is she?" Rosalie whispered, pointing to a sign in the room, which read, "_Sibyl Trelawney, Divination._" I shrugged my shoulders just as a woman entered the room. She had huge glasses that made her look like an overgrown moth with a large shawl draped over her thin frame.

"Welcome to Divination," she breathed, taking a seat by the chair in front of the fireplace. "I am Professor Trelawney. It is so nice to see you all in the physical world." Nobody said anything. "So you have chosen to study Divination, the most difficult of all the magical arts. I must warn you, that if you do not have the Sight, there is very little I can do for you. Books will only take you so far in this subject." Edward, Rosalie, and I all glanced at Bella, who looked stunned that a book would not help her succeed in this class.

Professor Trelawney continued. "The Inner Eye is a gift granted to very few witches and wizards. You there," she said, pointing to Seamus. "Is your mother well?"

"Uh, I think so," he said.

"I wouldn't be too sure if I was you," she said. Seamus looked at Dean with a worried glance while Professor Trelawney paid them no attention. "The first term will be devoted to tea leaves. Next term, we will move on to palmistry. By the way, dear," she added, turning her gaze to Lavender. "Beware a man with bronze locks."

Lavender glanced at Edward before scooter her chair closer to Parvati.

"After that, we will progress to the crystal ball. The class will be disrupted by a nasty bout of the flu with me losing my voice, and around Easter, one of our number will leave us forever." The class fell silent with her last prediction. "I wonder, dear," she said to Hermione, "If you could pass me the largest teapot." Hermione breathed a sigh of relief that it was nothing worse. She got out of her seat and handed Professor Trelawney the large silver pot. "Thank you. By the way, the way, the thing you're dreading, it will happen on the sixteenth of October."

The color flooded out of Hermione's face as she sat back down next to Ron.

"I want you to divide into pairs. Drink the tea until only the drags remain. You will then turn the cup upside down and hand it to your partner. Then, use your copy of _Unfogging the Future_ to interpret the shapes you see."

Once Rosalie and I had drained our teas, we swapped cups and opened our books. "Right, so what do you see?" I asked.

"A load of brown, soggy junk," she said, resting her head in her hands. I saw her eyelids start to droop—the perfumed fire made the room hot and made everyone feel sleepy.

"Broaden your minds," came Professor Trelawney's voice.

"Right," I said, stifling a yawn. "You've got a cross thingy, which means 'trials and suffering'—sorry," I added. "But you've also got this thing that could be a sun, which means happiness. So you're going to suffer, but you're going to be happy about it." I gave her a small smile.

"You need your inner eye tested if you ask me," she said, laughing quietly.

Next to us, Bella and Edward weren't doing much better. "That is not a frog, Edward," Bella said, yanking the cup out of his hands. "It's clearly a tree, can't you see?"

"I'm sorry, but it looks like a frog to me!"

"Okay, my turn," Rosalie said, drawing my attention back to our table. There's this round thing that could be a bowler hat—maybe you're going to work for the Ministry like Dad." She rotated the cup in her hand. "But now it looks like an acorn…" She ran her fingers through her blond curls, and I saw every boy in the room staring at her as she dissected my cup. Rosalie glanced down at her book. "That means a windfall of gold—perfect, you can lend me some—and then there's an animal shape. It looks like a hippo…no, maybe a sheep…" She pouted her lips, and I heard a groan from the table where Seamus and Dean were sitting.

Professor Trelawney swept over to our table and plucked the cup out of Rosalie's hand. "Let me see that, dear." She peered into the cup. "The falcon, dear—you have a deadly enemy."

There was a scoff, and Bella whispered loudly, "Well, everyone knows _that_." Everyone spun in their seats to stare at her. "Well they do!"

Professor Trelawney ignored her and continued. "The club…an attack. This is not a happy cup. The skull—there is danger in your path." Everyone was staring at Professor Trelawney, engrossed in her analysis of my cup. She turned it once more and let out a shriek, dropping it on the ground. "My dear…my dear…no, it's better not to say."

"What is it?" Lavender asked kindly, moving to Professor Trelawney's side. "You can tell us, Professor."

"My dear," she gasped, looking at me. "You have the Grim."

"Huh?" Obviously, I wasn't the only one who didn't understand. Bella tilted her head to the side while Dean Thomas shrugged his shoulders at me. The rest of the class, however, seemed horrified.

"The Grim, my dear, the Grim! The giant dog that haunts graveyards! The worst omen—the omen of death!"

My stomach dropped. It was the dog—the dog I had seen on Magnolia Crescent when I was running from the Prunley's to avoid Uncle John's wrath. Bella got out of her seat and peered at the tea leaves in the broken cup on the ground. "I don't think it looks like a Grim," she said.

Professor Trelawney frowned. "You'll forgive me, dear, but I detect very little aura around you. Very little perceptivity to the resonance of the future.

Seamus got out of his seat and stood next to Bella. "It kind of looks like a Grim if you do this." He squinted his eyes and looked at the broken cup.

"If you've all decided whether or not I'm going to die!" I said loudly, surprising everyone, including myself. Professor Trelawney looked shocked.

"Yes…I think we'll leave the lesson here for today. If everyone would please pack their things…" Silently, everyone in the class placed their books in their bags before grabbing their things and heading down the trap door. Harry joined Edward, Bella, Rosalie and I as we made our way to Transfiguration. I didn't say anything about what had just happened, and I was glad none of them brought it up.

When I entered Professor McGonagall's room, I took a seat at the back of the room, hoping that would distract everyone from the giant target I could feel on my forehead. Unfortunately, it didn't. Everyone kept turning around to look at me, and I didn't even notice when Professor McGonagall transformed into a cat at the front of the room.

"Really, what is wrong with all of you?" she asked after she had changed back into her normal form. "Not that it matters, but that's the first time I haven't gotten a standing ovation."

"Please, Professor," Bella said. "We've just had our first Divination class and—"

"Ah, say no more, Miss Swan. Tell me, who will be dying this year?"

Everyone looked at her. I raised my hand. "Me."

"I see. You should know, Miss Brandon, that Sibyl Trelawney has predicted the death of one student a year since she has arrived at this school. It is her way of greeting the new class. If it weren't for the fact that I never speak ill of my colleagues…" Her nostrils flared as her knuckles went white. She shook her head. "Divination is one of the most imprecise branches of magic. True Seers are very rare, and Professor Trelawney—" She stopped speaking again, took a deep breath, and continued. "You look in excellent health to me, so forgive me for not excusing you from today's homework. I assure you that if you die, you need not hand it in."

I laughed, feeling better about the Divination class. It was ridiculous—I wasn't going to die.

After Transfiguration had ended, Bella, Edward, Rosalie, and I made our way to the Great Hall for lunch while Harry caught up with his friends.

"Cheer up, Rosalie," Bella said, throwing an arm around her neck. "You heard what Professor McGonagall said."

Rosalie ignored her. "Alice, you haven't seen a great black dog anywhere, have you?" She placed her hand on top of mine, and I immediately went into a trance like usual.

"_Aw, what's the matter, Rose?" I asked, taking a seat next to her in the common room one night. I saw tears in her eyes, and I couldn't stand seeing my best friend upset._

"_It's nothing," she said, wiping her eyes. "It's stupid."_

"_Nothing you say is stupid," I reassured her, moving my chair closer to her._

"_Well, I miss Emmett," she admitted. "This is the first year I'm not at school with him, and I miss him so much. I mean, you, Bella, and Edward will all be going to that Christmas party Slughorn is hosting, and I'll be here all by myself. I won't even have Emmett here to keep me company." A few tears trickled down her cheeks._

"_Rose, I'm sure—"_

"_Rosalie!" Edward called, racing up to us._

"_Edward? What's wrong?"_

"_It's—you have to come quick!" He pulled her to her feet and dragged her to the portrait hole. I followed, curious to see what was going on. The portrait swung open—and Emmett was standing there with his traditional smile on his face._

"_Hey, Rosie," he said. Rosalie shrieked and leapt into his arms while he pulled her into a deep embrace. I stared at them, realizing how much I missed my boyfriend._

_I let out a sigh when someone tapped me on the shoulder. I spun around and saw a pair of blue eyes staring down at me. "You didn't think I'd let Emmett sneak into Gryffindor tower without me, did you?" Jasper asked. I clasped my hands to my mouth while he lifted me into the air and pulled me against his chest._

"Alice?" Rosalie asked, waving her hand in front of my face. "What did you see?"

"Just us with Jasper and Emmett," I said.

"Wait, what?" she said, her eyes getting wider. "Did you say me with Emmett? As in, _me with Emmett_?"

"Rosalie, weren't you asking her something?" Bella said, nudging her in the ribs.

"Oh, yeah. Well, _have_ you seen a Grim anywhere?"

"Yeah," I said, taking a seat at the Gryffindor table. "I saws one the night I left the Prunley's." Rosalie stopped where she was as any color drained from her face.

"A stray," Bella scoffed, sitting down next to me. Both Edward and Rosalie looked like they had just seen a dementor behind me.

"This is bad," Edward said to Rosalie.

"I know," she said. She turned to me and Bella. "My Uncle Billus saw one once, and he died 24 hours later!"

"That's a coincidence," Bella said matter-of-factly, pouring herself a cup of tea.

Edward looked at Bella with shock. "You don't know what you're talking about!" he said angrily. "Grims scare the living daylights out of most wizards!"

"Well, there you have it!" Bella said, throwing her hands up in the air. "They see a Grim and die of fright. The Grims aren't an omen—they're the cause of death! And Alice is still alive because she's not stupid enough to see one and say 'oh look, a Grim. Better go kick the bucket!'" Bella reached into her bag and pulled out her Arithmancy textbook. She flipped open to a page in the middle, propped the book against a plate, and started reading.

"Divination is a lot of guesswork if you ask me. Very vague and imprecise."

"There was nothing vague about that Grim in the cup!" Rosalie said defensively.

"Please," Bella said, rolling her eyes. "You said you thought it could have been a hippo or sheep."

"You just don't like Divination because Professor Trelawney said you didn't have the right aura! You just can't stand being bad at something for a change!" Rosalie shouted.

She had hit a nerve. Bella slammed her book shut, knocking over my pumpkin juice. She picked it up and threw it in her bag before getting up from the table. "If being good at Divination means I have to pretend to see death omens where there aren't any, I'm not sure I'll be studying it any longer! That lesson was rubbish compared to my Arithmancy class!"

Edward looked after her with confusion. "What is she talking about?" he asked."She hasn't been to an Arithmancy class yet!"

***

After lunch, I headed down to Care of Magical Creatures with Bella, Edward, and Rosalie. Like usual, Edward and Rosalie weren't speaking to Bella, so the four of us walked in silence. I was about to try to get them talking when I saw a white-blond head flanked by two bigger figures—we must have these lessons with the Slytherins.

In front of the group, Hagrid was standing in his moleskin coat, looking excited. "C'mon now, get a move on!" he called to the people behind us. I looked back and saw Harry, Ron, and Hermione walk up to us. "

Hey," Harry said, giving me a hug. "Are you ready for this?"

I nodded. "I just hope the Slytherins don't do anything to mess this up for Hagrid.

"Got a real treat for yehs," Hagrid said happily. "Great lesson comin' up. Everyone here? Right, follow me." I followed him with a sinking feeling—Hagrid wasn't leading us into the Forbidden Forest, was he? I'd been there enough to last a lifetime. Instead, we walked up to a paddock with nothing inside. "Now everyone gather 'round and open yer books ter—"

"How?" came a cold book.

"'Scuse me?"

"_How_ are we supposed to open our books without them ripping our hands off?" Malfoy asked, holding his book up, which was bound together with thick rope. I looked around and saw everyone's books had been shut with something—Edward had his wrapped in spell-o-tape while Bella used a scarf to shut hers.

"Hasn't—hasn't anyone bin able ter open there books?" Hagrid asked with a crestfallen expression. Everyone shook their heads. "Yeh've got the stroke 'em," he said, grabbing Rosalie's book. He pulled off the belt and ran his forefinger down the spine. The book shuddered before falling open in his hand. "I—I thought they were funny."

"Oh, yes," Malfoy sneered. "Books that can bite and rip our skin off. How hilarious."

"Shut up, Malfoy," I said. I wanted Hagrid's first lesson to be a success, so I was not going to let Malfoy ruin it.

"So—er—I'll just go an' get the magical creatures," Hagrid mumbled, walking into the paddock.

"God, this place is going to the dogs," Malfoy said when Hagrid was out of earshot. My father will have a fit when I tell him that oaf is teaching a class."

"Be quiet, Malfoy," I snarled, clenching my fists.

Malfoy, smiling widely, walked towards me. His face turned to fear as he pointed behind me. "D—dementor!" he stuttered. I quickly spun around as all the Slytherins burst into laughter.

"Oooooh!" Hermione squealed, pointing into the paddock. Hagrid had emerged, leading a large bird-like creature with him. More of the creatures were following behind Hagrid. The thing had a long body that was similar to a horse. It also had wings and the head of an eagle. It's sharp beak and piercing eyes made me shiver.

"Git up there," Hagrid said, slapping the front creature on its backside. He galloped forward, and everyone in the class took 20 giant steps back. "Hippogriffs!" Hagrid called. "Beautiful, aren't they?"

I could see what he meant. After the initial shock of seeing an eagle-horse hybrid, I began to appreciate the beauty of how the coats transitioned from fur to feathers. How their smooth coats gleamed handsomely in the sun.

"So, I yeh want to come a bit closer—"

No one seemed to want to move. I looked over at Bella, Edward, and Rosalie, and the four of us approached the paddock.

"Alice, don't do it!" Harry hissed. I ignored him and moved closer to Hagrid and the hippogriffs.

"Now, the firs' thing yeh ought to know about hippogriffs is that they're extremely proud creatures. Don't never insult one, 'cause it may be the last thing yeh ever do." I glanced behind me and saw Harry wringing his hands nervously. I ignored him and went back to listening to Hagrid. "Now, yeh always want the hippogriff to be the one to make the firs' move. It's polite. Who wants to try with Buckbeak here?"

No one said anything.

"Nobody?" he asked, his smile drooping into a frown.

"I'll do it!" I said, climbing through the fence into the paddock.

"Atta girl!" Hagrid said, clapping me on the back with so much force, I fell onto the ground. The rest of the class giggled while Hagrid grabbed my hand and helped me to my feet. Like usual, I didn't go into a vision when Hagrid touched me. Maybe it was something about people who were bigger than most doorways.

"Okay," I said, brushing my robes off. "What am I supposed to do?"

"Now, make eye contact with Buckbeak. Try not ter blink if yeh can—hippogriffs don't trust yeh if yeh blink a lot."

I stared Buckbeak in his orange eye, forcing it to stay open. My eye was watering, but I kept it fixed on Buckbeak.

"Now, bow," Hagrid commanded. I inclined my head, exposing the back of my neck to Buckbeak. I looked up, but saw Buckbeak was still glaring at me with his fierce orange eyes. "Uh, yeh should back up, Alice. Do it slowly," he said in a worried voice.

As I was about to move, Buckbeak surprised everyone. He bent his knees and sank down into a bow.

"Well done, Alice!" Hagrid roared. "Yeh can touch him now if yeh want." Smiling, I moved closer to Buckbeak and stroked his neck. He closed his eyes lazily, clearly enjoying the affection I was giving him. "Okay," Hagrid said, turning to the rest of the class. "Who else wants to try?"

Inspired by my success, the rest of the class climbed into the paddock. They were all paired with a hippogriff. Harry, Ron, and Hermione were with a black one while Edward, Bella, and Rosalie were with a tawny-colored one. Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle had taken over on Buckbeak.

Malfoy was now petting Buckbeak's beak., looking smug. "I knew this had to be easy," he called loudly so the entire class could hear. "I mean, if Brandon could do it…I bet you're not even dangerous are you, you great ugly brute?"

It happened in a second. Malfoy was on the ground while Buckbeak's talon came down on his shoulder. Buckbeak was screeching over Malfoy's high-pitched screams. Hagrid wrestled Buckbeak off Malfoy and tied him to a post. Buckbeak was still straining to get at Malfoy when Hagrid walked over to him.

"I'm dying…I'm dying," he moaned on the grass, scarlet blood staining his robes.

"Yer not dying," Hagrid said, his usually red face white. "Someone help me—I need to get him up—"

"Hagrid!" Bella said sternly. Hagrid turned to look at her. "He needs to go to the hospital wing!"

"I know what he needs. I'll do it—I'm the teacher." Silently, Bella opened the paddock gate as Hagrid carried Malfoy back to the castle. Everyone else packed up their things and headed inside.

"They should fire him straight away!" Pansy Parkinson sobbed.

"It was Malfoy's fault!" Dean Thomas shouted angrily. Crabbe and Goyle cracked their knuckles menacingly at him. When we reached the entrance hall, Pansy sprinted to the hospital wing while all the Gryffindors headed to the common room.

"That was a really bad thing to happen in Hagrid's first lesson," Bella sighed, sinking into a chair. "I mean, Malfoy will be okay, right?"

"Of course he will be," Edward said now that he had decided to talk to Bella again. "Madam Pomfrey can mend anything in a heartbeat. Trust Malfoy to do something to mess things up for Hagrid."

"They wouldn't fire him, right?" Rosalie asked worriedly. "I mean, it wasn't his fault!"

"I hope not," I said glumly.

***

After dinner, Edward, Bella, Rosalie, and I were sitting by the fire, working on our homework. Harry was sitting next to me, trying to let him massage my shoulders. "Harry, would you quit it?" I snapped. "I'm trying to work on this!"

"Fine!" he huffed, storming off to talk with Ron and Hermione. I sighed and glanced out the window.

"Hey," I whispered. "There's a light on in Hagrid's cabin."

Edward checked his watch. "We could go down—it's still pretty early."

Bella gave me a look. "Oh, come on!" I whined. "I'm still allowed out on the grounds. I mean, Black hasn't gotten past the dementors yet."

"Well, okay," she relented. The four of us got up and headed out to see Hagrid. When we reached his cabin, I knocked on the door, and Hagrid let us in. He was sitting at his table with a large bottle of whiskey in front of him.

"'Spect it's a record," he hiccupped. "Don't reckon they've ever fired a teacher after one lesson."

"You haven't been fired, have you?" Bella gasped, sitting next to him and laying her hand on top of his arm.

"Not yet," he said miserably, "But it's only a matter of time. Once Malfoy—"

"How is he?" Rosalie asked.

"Madam Pomfrey did the best she could, but he's still sayin' he's in pain."

"He's lying," I said. "Madam Pomfrey regrew all the bones in my arm after Lockhart made them disappear. Trust Malfoy to milk it for all it's worth."

"School governors have bin informed, of course. They reckon I started too big…"

"It's Malfoy's fault!" Edward exclaimed. "You told us what happened if you insult a hippogriff. It's his own fault for not listening."

"Don't worry, Hagrid," Bella reassured him. "We'll back you up."

"Ah, yeh guys are the best," he said, pulling us into a giant hug as tears leaked out of his eyes.

"I think you've had enough to drink," Bella said, grabbing the bottle from the table and emptying it into the sink. Hagrid got up from the table and walked outside. We heard a splash of water, and Bella looked outside the door to see what it was.

"What happened?" I asked.

"He's stuck his head in a barrel of water," she said, shaking her head.

Hagrid walked back in with sopping hair, wiping the water out of his eyes. "That's better," he said. "Listen, it's nice of yehs ter come down here an' see me—"

Hagrid stopped dead, staring at me.

"WHAT DO YEH THINK YER DOIN'?" he shouted, storming over to me and grabbing my arm. "YER NOT TO BE OUT OF THE CASTLE THIS LATE, ALICE! AN' YOU THREE, LETTINGT HER!" He threw open the door to his cabin and pulled us across the grounds. "I don't want yehs coming down to see me this late again. I'm not worth yeh getting in trouble."

**Okay, so I know I said it would be up yesterday, but I had a funeral to go to this week, so I didn't have a chance to write. I hope you all liked it, and now that I'm on break, I'll try to update a LOT more often…at least until the end of January!**

**Oh, and please review!**


	26. Snape in Frilly Dresses

Chapter 24: Snape in Frilly Dresses

**AN: Wow, thanks for all the reviews everyone. I should have the next chapter up by Friday (but I promise to have it by Sunday!)**

Malfoy wasn't in classes all that week. He eventually showed up half way through potions on Thursday. He stumbled into the dungeons when we were halfway through double Potions with the Slytherins. His arm was tied up in a sling and he was acting like a conquering war hero, victorious after a long battle.

"How is it, Draco?" Pansy Parkinson simpered. "Are you in pain?"

"Yeah," he sighed, putting on a pained-but-brave look to impress her. When she looked back at her cauldron, I saw him wink at her. I looked next to me at Rosalie and rolled my eyes.

"Settle down," Snape said absentmindedly. I looked over at Edward and rolled my eyes. If he, Rosalie, Bella, or I had walked in late, he wouldn't have said 'settle down'—we would have gotten detention, but Malfoy had always been able to get away with murder in Snape's class.

"Sir," Malfoy called to Snape, "Sir, I need help cutting my daisy roots because of my arm—"

"Miss Weasley, cut up Malfoy's roots for him," Snape called, not looking up from the paper he was reading.

Rosalie went bright red as she grabbed the roots off Malfoy's table. "There's nothing wrong with your arm," she hissed at him.

Malfoy smirked. "You heard Professor Snape—chop up my daisy roots." I heard Rose muttering under her breath as she roughly chopped Malfoy's roots, making them all different sizes. "Sir," he whined. "Rosalie's mutilating my roots!"

"Switch roots," he ordered, lazily waving his hand.

"But sir—"

"Now!" Snape ordered. I looked at Rosalie's face and saw the pained expression as she gave her perfectly shredded roots to Malfoy and took his damaged ones. She had spent the past half an hour making sure hers were all the same size, and I thought I saw a tear trickle down her cheek as she gave them to Malfoy.

"And sir, I'll need my shrivelfig skinned."

"Brandon, skin Malfoy's shrivelfig," he said, giving me a look of deep loathing that he reserved for every time he laid his eyes on me. I sighed as I grabbed Malfoy's shrivelfig. Rosalie was looking hopelessly at her disfigured roots, attempting to repair them.

I skinned the shrivelfig as quickly as possible and threw it back to Malfoy. I glanced back at Edward and Bella, who gave me sympathy looks.

"Seen your pal Hagrid lately?" Malfoy asked under his breath.

"None of your damn business," I hissed, going back to my work.

"Looks like he won't be a teacher much longer," he said with mock sorrow. "Father's very unhappy about my injury."

"Keep talking," Rosalie snarled, "And I'll give you a real injury."

"He's complained to the school governors," Malfoy continued, ignoring Rosalie. "And to the Ministry of Magic. Father has a lot of influence, you know. And after a lasting injury like this"—he gave a huge, fake sigh—"who knows if I'll ever be the same again."

"So that's why you're putting it on," I said. "You're trying to get Hagrid fired." I put my silver knife down because my hands were shaking so much with anger. I knew if I was holding the knife, I would accidentally on purpose stick it in Malfoy's throat.

"Well," Malfoy said after a moment, "Partially. But there are other benefits too. Weasley, slice my caterpillar for me."

Snape had left his desk to go bully Dean Thomas, who was struggling like usual. Bella was trying to convince Snape to let her help him, but of course, Snape loved to torture Gryffindor students.

"Hey, Alice," Seamus Finnegan whispered, leaning over his cauldron towards me. "Did you read _The Daily Prophet_ today?"

"No, what happened?"

"There's been a sighting of Sirius Black!"

"Really?" Rosalie asked. "Where?" Malfoy had even leaned across the table to listen.

"Not too far from here," Seamus said. "Some Muggle spotted him. 'Course, she didn't understand—the Muggles think he's just a regular criminal—so she called that hotline thing they have set up. By the time the Ministry got there, he had disappeared."

Rosalie turned to face me. "Not too far from here?" she whispered, looking at me worried. She and I both knew her dad was right—Black was after me. "What do you want, Malfoy?" Rosalie asked, glancing over her shoulder.

Malfoy ignored her, instead transfixing his beady green eyes on me. "Thinking of trying to catch Black single-handedly, Brandon? Maybe bring your faithful sidekicks along for the journey?"

"Yeah, totally," I said, waving my hand in the air. Malfoy's mouth had formed into a small smile.

"Of course, if I were you, I'd have already done something by now. I mean, I'd be out there looking for him, especially after everything he did."

"What are you talking about?" Rosalie asked, shaking out her blonde curls, causing an instantaneous response from every Gryffindor boy in the room.

"Don't you _know_, Brandon?" Malfoy asked, looking genuinely shocked. "I would have thought _someone_ would have told you by now."

"Told me what?" I asked, getting annoyed.

Malfoy chuckled under his breath. "I guess it makes sense—you don't want to risk your neck, let the dementors handle it instead. But if I was in your positions, I'd want revenge. I'd hunt him down myself so I could look in his eyes when I killed him."

"If you're not going to tell me, shut up and make your potion," I snarled, turning my back on him. Snape ended the class, and Rosalie and I packed our things away. I turned to her, thinking over everything Malfoy had said. "Why would I want revenge on Black? He hasn't done anything to me—yet."

"I wouldn't worry about it, Alice," she said. "He's just making it up, trying to get you to do something stupid and get yourself killed." Rosalie and I walked over to Bella and Edward, and the four of us made our way out of the dungeons towards the Great Hall for lunch. On the way, I told them about what Malfoy had said.

"He just wants you to get in trouble," Edward said to me. "Don't you agree, Bella? Bella?" He turned next to him, but Bella had disappeared. "Where did she go?" he asked. Rosalie and I looked around, but Bella had disappeared from sight.

"How did she do that?" Rosalie asked. "She was right next to us!"

"Look!" I said, pointing down the corridor. "There she is." Bella looked out of breath and she was clutching her bag to her chest. The three of us ran up to her. "How did you do that?" I asked.

"What?" she asked, smoothing her hair and patting at something on the front of her robes.

"One minute you were with us, and the next you weren't," Edward said, looking at her suspiciously.

"What? Oh, I had to go back for—oh no!" she exclaimed as her bag ripped apart at the seam. All her books, quills, parchment, and inkbottles toppled onto the ground.

"Why are you carrying all of these around?" Edward asked, watching Bella trying to hold all her loose possessions. "Here, let me hold some of those."

"You know how many subjects I'm taking!" she said exacerbated. She handed him an especially thick book while she repaired her broken bag with her wand.

"But, you don't have any of these subjects today!" he said, looking at the book in his hand. "We only have Defense Against the Dark Arts this afternoon."

"Yeah, okay," she said absent-mindedly, grabbing the book from his hand and putting it in her bag. "I hope there's something good for lunch—I'm starving!" She got back onto her feet and headed towards the Great Hall without waiting for us.

Edward looked at Rosalie and me. "Do you get the feeling Bella isn't telling us something?"

***

After lunch, Bella, Edward, Rosalie, and I headed off to Defense Against the Dark Arts with Emmett, Fred, George, and Jasper, who were all headed to Charms.

"Don't worry, you'll love the class," Emmett was saying to Rosalie. "Lupin's a great teacher. Don't you agree, Fred?"

Fred nodded. "He knows what he's talking about. Definitely a fun lesson."

"He seemed really nice on the train, but then again, he was fighting off a dementor. He could be a super mean teacher for all we know," I added.

"Alice, I don't see why you're fretting over a new teacher," Jasper said, putting his arm around my shoulders. We passed a group of fourth-year girls, who started whispering to each other as soon as they passed us. "I mean, you're Alice Brandon. No teacher can hate you."

"Snape does," I reminded him. "What if Professor Lupin is another Snape?"

"He's not," George said. "He's awesome. You guys are going to love him."

"Dudes, we're going to have to book it if we want to make it to Charms on time," Emmett said. "Good luck in Defense Against the Dark Arts you four. See you later, Rosie." Fred, George, and Emmett started down the corridor.

Jasper turned to me. "Good luck. Not that you need it." He kissed me on the top of my head, then winked at me before running after his best friends.

Rosalie and Bella stared at me with wide eyes and jaws dropped. "Does he like me?" I asked them. "I mean, he ignores me, then puts his arm around me and kisses me on the head. God, I'm so confused!"

"I'm confused too," Rosalie said. "Edward!" she snapped, turning towards him.

"What?"

"You need to do some research. Find out if Jasper likes Alice."

"How am I supposed to find that out? He's friends with Fred, George, and Emmett, not me."

"But you're Emmett's brother! Use you sneaky little brother skills and spy on Emmett when he's with Jasper to see if he fancies Alice."

"Ugh, fine," he groaned. "I don't get why girls are always so obsessed with finding out whether or not a boy likes him. You are definitely the more confusing sex," he added as we walked into Professor Lupin's classroom. The room was filled with Gryffindor and Ravenclaw students, but Professor Lupin wasn't here yet. Rosalie and I grabbed a desk in the middle of the classroom while Bella and Edward sat at the one next to us. I pulled out my book and turned to Rosalie while we waited for Professor Lupin to arrive.

"So, do you think he likes me?" I asked anxiously.

"Do you like him?" She raised her eyebrows.

"I don't know," I confessed. "I mean, I've had a thing for Jasper since first-year, but I'm dating Harry now. But when he put his arm around me and kissed my head, I felt something. Why does this have to be so confusing?"

"If you still like Jasper, you shouldn't be stringing Harry along. It's not fair to him."

"I know it's not," I sighed. "But the thing is, I don't know if I still like Jasper. He was so oblivious to how I felt that I moved on, yet now he's sort of showing interest in me. Why is it so complicated to be a teenager?"

Rosalie snorted under her breath. "I don't know. Just like me—I don't think Emmett will _ever_ see me as more than Fred and George's little sister. And even if he does develop feelings for me, he'll never get to act on them because my brothers will murder him."

"Hey, you never know what the future holds," I said, thinking back to visions I had of Rosalie and Emmett together. Just then, Professor Lupin entered the room, looking as shabby as he did on the train. He was smiling as he placed his worn briefcase on his desk.

"Hello," he greeted us."Would you please place everything in your bags? Today is a practical lesson—all you will need is your wands." There was a burst of excited chatter at this news—we had never had a practical Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson before. Unless you counted the time Lockhart set a cage of Cornish pixies on the class. "Everyone ready? Good, follow me."

He led the class out of the room and down the corridor. On the way, we saw Peeves floating in the air, stuffing a wad of gum into a keyhole. Peeves didn't pay any attention to us until we were a few feet away. When he spotted Lupin, he broke into a song.

"Loony loopy Lupin," he sang. "Loony loopy Lupin, loony loopy Lupin," he continued. Peeves was always rude and out of control, but he usually showed some respect to teachers. I turned to look at Professor Lupin, but he was still smiling.

"I would take that gum out of the keyhole if I was you, Peeves, or Mr. Filch won't be able to get to his brooms." Peeves responded by blowing a raspberry at him. Professor Lupin sighed as he took his wand out of his pocket. "This is a useful spell," he said to us. "Watch closely." He pointed his wand at Peeves and muttered "_Waddiwasi_."

The wad of chewing gum shot out of the keyhole and straight into Peeves' mouth. He started gagging as he zoomed away, shouting obscenities the whole way.

"Cool, sir," Seamus Finnegan said with amazement.

"Thank you, Seamus," Professor Lupin said, stowing his wand. "Shall we continue?" He led us to the staffroom, ushering us inside. It was mainly empty, with the exception of Snape sitting at one of the tables. He was glaring at our group, a nasty sneer present on his mouth.

When Professor Lupin went to close the door, he spoke up. "Leave it open, Lupin. I'd rather not witness this massacre." He started walking by us. "In case you haven't noticed, this class contains Dean Thomas. If I were you, I wouldn't trust him with anything difficult—unless, of course, you want your entire class injured." With that, he walked out of the room, shutting the door behind him.

"Actually, I was hoping you could assist me with the first stage of our lesson today, Dean. I'm sure you'll perform it wonderfully." Professor Lupin turned towards a wardrobe in the room. When he got close to it, it wobbled slightly.

"There's something in there!" I hissed at Edward, Bella, and Rosalie. Rosalie's face went pale as she stared at the wardrobe.

"Nothing to worry about," Professor Lupin reassured us. "It's just a boggart. Boggarts like dark, enclosed spaces like wardrobes, underneath beds—I even met one that had managed to squeeze itself into a grandfather clock! I found this one yesterday, and I was able to convince Professor Dumbledore to allow me to keep it to let my third year's practice on it. Now, the first question is, what exactly _is_ a boggart?"

Like usual, Bella's hand shot in the air. No one seemed surprised that she knew the answer.

"Yes, Miss Swan?"

"It's a shape-shifter. It takes the shape of whatever it thinks will frighten us the most."

"Excellently put. So, the boggart sitting in this wardrobe has not yet assumed a shape. He doesn't know what will frighten the person on the other side of the door most. No one knows what a boggart looks like in the dark because as soon as he leaves the wardrobe, he will become what we fear most. This means we have a huge advantage over the boggart. Have you figured it out yet, Alice?"

"Er," I said, attempting to ignore Bella jumping up and down with her hand in the air next to me. "Well, because there are so many of us, it won't know what shape to take?" I guessed.

"Precisely! It's always best to have company when dealing with a boggart. He becomes confused. I once saw a boggart become half a slug—not very scary. Now, the charm for repelling a boggart is simple, but requires concentration. The thing that actually finishes a boggart is laughter. You need to force it into a shape you find comical. Now, repeat after me. _Riddikulus._"

"_Riddikulus_," we all repeated.

"Wonderful," Professor Lupin said enthusiastically. "I'm afraid, however, that was the easy part. This is where you come in, Dean. Now, tell me, what frightens you the most?"

Dean's lips moved, but no sound came out.

"Sorry, what was that?"

"Professor Snape," Dean whispered. Everyone laughed, and even Dean smiled.

"Professor Snape…interesting. Now, Dean, you have a little sister, correct?"

"Yes, but I don't want the boggart to become her either!"

"No, no, you misunderstand. Now, what sorts of things does your little sister like to do?"

"Well, she likes to play dress up with her friends."

"Ah, very good. Now, what sorts of things does she like to dress up in?"

"Well, there's this one long, frilly pink dress. And she puts on these long lacy gloves that go up to her elbows. Then, she has a white sunhat and a white purse."

"Right. Now, I want you to picture those clothes clearly. Can you see them, Dean?"

Dean nodded.

"Wonderful. When the boggart comes out of the wardrobe, he will take the appearance of Professor Snape. I want you to imagine the clothes your sister dresses up in on Professor Snape, and if you are successful, that's what will happen to the boggart. Once that happens. The boggart will shift his attention to each of us. Now, I want you all to think of the thing that frightens you the most, and figure out a way to make it comical."

Everyone fell silent, deep in thought. My mind drifted—what scared me the most? At first, I thought of Lord Voldemort. After all, he did want me dead. Before I could think of a way to make Lord Voldemort less scary and even funny, another image entered my mind. A rotting hand, being withdrawn into a long, black cloak. A raspy breath, making everything cold. I shivered, then looked around.

Next to me, Edward had his eyes shut and was muttering to himself. "Take its legs off!" I knew what he was thinking of—last year in the Forbidden Forest, I found out Edward was deathly afraid of spiders.

"Everyone ready?" Professor Lupin asked. I panicked—I had no idea how to make a dementor funny, but everyone else seemed ready. "Okay Dean, take it away." He pointed his wand at the doorknob, and the wardrobe door opened. Professor Snape, greasy-haired and hook-nosed, stumbled out. He fixed his eyes on Dean and walked towards him.

"_R—r—riddikulus!_" Dean squeaked, pointing his wand at the boggart. There was a cracking noise, and Snape was standing there, in a frilly pink dress with gloves, a hat, and the purse. Everyone burst into laughter, and the boggart paused, looking confused.

"Rosalie, your turn!"

Rosalie stepped forward, looking nervous. There was another crack, and Snape became a huge basilisk. Its fangs protruded from its mouth as it slithered forward. Its yellow eyes were fixed on Rosalie. "_Riddikulus!_" she cried. There was a crack, and the snake was now tied in a knot, a blindfold over its eyes.

"Excellent. Parvati, you next!" The snake became a mummy, which moved forward, its arms extended. _Crack!_ The mummy tripped and unraveled its bandages.

_Crack! _The mummy became a banshee which screeched a horrid song before—_crack_—it became a large rat before—_crack _—it was a single bloody eyeball.

"It's confused! You're doing great! Edward—you're up!"

A few people screamed when the eyeball turned into a six foot tall spider. It was covered in hair, and its pincers clicked ferociously. For a minute, I thought Edward had gone into shock.

"_Riddikulus!_" he shouted. The spider's legs disappeared, and it rolled on the ground, coming to a stop at my feet. I raised my wand, ready to face the dementor.

"Here!" Professor Lupin shouted. The spider disappeared. For a moment, everyone looked around for the boggart. Then, I spotted it—a white orb, hanging in the air in front of Lupin. "_Riddikulus,_" he said, lazily waving his wand. The boggart landed on the floor as a cockroach. "Dean, finish him off!"

Dean moved forward and the boggart once again became Professor Snape. "_Riddikulus!_" he shouted. For a second, Snape was there in the frilly dress before Dean shouted "Ha!" and the boggart burst into a million wisps of smoke.

"Fantastic!" Professor Lupin cried. "Well done, everyone. Now, let's see…five points to Gryffindor for everyone who tackled the boggart—ten for Dean since he did it twice…and five each to Bella and Alice."

"But I didn't do anything," I complained.

"Sure you did. You and Bella answered my questions at the beginning of class. Excellent lesson, everyone. Please read the chapter on boggarts for homework and summarize it for me. Due next class. Have a good day."

Everyone was talking excitedly when we left the staffroom, but I felt weird. Professor Lupin had stopped me from dealing with the boggart—why? Was it because he thought I was weak after I collapsed on the train when the dementor came in? Did he think I would faint again?

No one else seemed to care.

"Did you see me deal with the snake?" Rosalie said excitedly.

"I loved seeing Snape in the dress," Lavender giggled to Parvati.

"And the way I took on that spider! That was the best Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson we ever had!" Edward said enthusiastically.

"Professor Lupin seems like a very good teacher. I just wish I had a chance with the boggart," Bella said thoughtfully.

"What would it have been for you?" Rosalie laughed. "A homework that only received a nine out of ten?"

***

"Alice?" a voice asked that evening in the common room. I looked up from my Defense Against the Dark Arts book and saw Harry looking at me, an unhappy expression on his face.

"Hey sweetie, what's up?" I asked, smiling at my boyfriend. Harry looked over at Ron, who nodded at him, before looking back at me.

"Can I talk to you?" he asked.

"Uh, sure. Did you want to go somewhere more private?"

He nodded. I got up and followed Harry into a room right next to the portrait hole. I took a seat in a chair and looked up at him.

"So, what did you want to talk about?"

"Do you like Jasper Hale?" he asked. Boy, he didn't beat around the bush or anything.

"What?" I asked, stunned.

"You heard me—do you have a thing for Jasper Hale?"

"Where is this coming from?" I said, slightly confused. Harry hadn't seen Jasper put his arm around me or kiss me on the head, so I had no idea where he was getting this idea.

"I overheard Emmett Cullen telling Fred and George that Jasper was talking nonstop about you over the summer, and it made me start to think. Last year, whenever you were with Jasper, you were always smiling and laughing, and you never seem to be that way with me. I mean, you won't even let me hold your hand! And then Cho Chang, from Ravenclaw, told me she saw Jasper put his arm around you today."

Cho Chang? I barely knew her—why was she telling Harry about Jasper putting his arm around me?

"So I'm going to ask you once more—do you like Jasper Hale?"

"I did," I said quietly. "When I met him first year, he was so nice to me that I developed a little crush on him. But Harry, I really like you. Believe me, I do. Jasper, he's in the past. I promise."

"Okay, but why won't you let me hold your hand or kiss you or anything?"

"I'm going to tell you something, but you have to promise not to tell anyone. Not Ron, not Hermione, not even your parents."

"Okay, I promise," he said.

I took a deep breath. "When Lord Voldemort—"

"Don't say the name!" Harry said, wincing.

I rolled my eyes and continued. "Well, when He tried to kill me as a baby and the curse failed, something happened. In case you didn't notice last year, I'm a Parslemouth. Dumbledore has this theory that when the curse backfired, some of Voldemort's powers were transferred to me. Not intentionally—it was a side effect of the curse. He also thinks the curse…changed me."

"Changed you? What do you mean?"

"Well, have you ever noticed that I zone out and don't seem to be paying attention whenever someone grabs my hand or touches my skin?"

"Yeah, why is that?"

"Ever since I was little, I've been having visions. For some reason, skin contact causes me to go into some sort of trance, and I see a vision of the person."

"You mean like the future?"

I shrugged my shoulders. "Maybe. I mean, I saw Rosalie in the Chamber of Secrets before it happened, and I saw Edward and I going to see Lockhart for help, but sometimes they're different. Like I didn't see Ron coming with us, but he did. Maybe they're a clue to something that's going to happen, and I'm supposed to stop it, but I don't know. They're mainly a pain because I can't touch anyone without having a vision—with the exception of Hagrid."

"Why doesn't Hagrid cause you to have one?"

"Don't know. But that's why we can't hold hands and kiss—at least not for now."

Harry smiled at me.

"So, are we good?" I asked.

"We're more than good." He put his arm around my shoulder and the two of us walked back into the common room. I glanced in the corner and saw Jasper scowling at us. I ignored him completely and resumed my work on boggarts.

***

Saturday morning, I woke up bright and early for the first Quidditch practice of the year. I threw on a pair of black stretchy pants with a white long sleeved shirt. I threw a red sweatshirt over it then pulled on my sneakers. I grabbed my broom and headed down the stairs—where I found Jasper waiting for me.

"Jasper?" I asked, suppressing a yawn. "Why aren't you down at the field yet?"

"Oh, I figured you would be late—as usual—and I didn't want to make you walk alone."

"Yes, but now _you_ will be late also," I pointed out, climbing out of the portrait hole.

"I know, but Wood is always mad at me, so it doesn't really matter. Besides, he'll be less mad at you if you're not the only one who's late."

"Good point."

"So, how is everything going with you and your boyfriend?" he asked.

"It's going good now. We talked earlier this week about some stuff, and we're doing great now."

"That's fantastic," he said, but I detected a bitterness in his voice.

"Hey, Jasper? Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure, go ahead."

"Why don't you like me dating Harry?"

"Excuse me?" he said, sounding offended.

"I know it bothers you. You talked to me about it before school started, and whenever you see me with him, you have a sour expression on your face."

"I don't have to like everyone I meet," he said defensively. "It's not a crime if I don't like one third year. Besides, I don't think you're old enough to have a boyfriend, and he's not good enough for you anyways."

"Oh, I thought—never mind."

"What did you think?" he pressed.

"No, it's stupid. Besides, I'm wrong."

"Alice," he said, stopping me and gazing into my eyes, "What did you think?"

I paused a moment to allow my heart to start beating again. "I thought maybe you were—you know—jealous."

"Jealous?" he asked, bursting into laughter. "Me? Jealous of him?"

"Is that such a ridiculous question to ask?"

"Yes. Because that third year has nothing I would be jealous of."

"Yeah, silly me," I said sadly. The two of us walked in silence to the team room. When we got there, Emmett, Fred, George, Angelina, and Oliver were all there, waiting for us.

"Now that Alice and Jasper have _finally_ arrive," Wood said, glaring at us, "We can get started." I took a seat next to Angelina, who shot me a smile. "This is our last chance—_my_ last chance—to win the Quidditch Cup," he addressed us. "I'm leaving at the end of this year—I'll never get another chance. Gryffindor hasn't won since Charlie Weasley left. Okay, so we've had some bad luck—injuries, the match getting cancelled last year…" Wood shook his head bitterly. "But, I also know we've got the best ruddy team in the whole school!"

"Damn straight," Emmett muttered.

Wood ignored him. "We've got three _amazing_ Chasers." He pointed to Angelina, Jasper, and Emmett. Emmett nodded smugly at the rest of us. "We have two _unbeatable_ Beaters."

"Stop it, Oliver. You're embarrassing us," Fred said. George pretended to blush.

"And we've got a Seeker who's _never_ failed to win us a match!" Wood stared at me, pride filling his eyes. "Oh, and me," he said in an afterthought.

"We think you're great too, Oliver," Angelina said.

"Spanking good Keeper," George said.

"The point is, the Quidditch Cup should have had our names on it these past two years. Ever since Alice jointed the team, I thought we had it in the bag. But we haven't, and this is my last chance to finally see our names on it." Wood looked at the ground dejectedly. Everyone looked at him sympathetically.

"Oliver, this is our year," Jasper said, standing up.

"Yeah, we can do it, Oliver!" I said, leaping to my feet.

"You can count on us!" Emmett said, rising. Full of determination, we made our way onto the field and started practicing. Everyone seemed inspired by Oliver's speech since it was one of the best practices we had ever had. Once we finished, I cleaned up and headed back to the castle with Angelina.

"So, what's this I hear about you dating some third year named Harry Potter?"

"Who told you that?" I asked, my cheeks turning red.

"So, it's true?" she asked.

I nodded.

"Alice, why are you doing this to yourself? I can tell you're still head over heels for Jasper, and I can tell he feels the same way about you. Why don't you just tell him?"

"He doesn't feel the same way," I said sadly. "He basically told me that this morning." I told her about the conversation where Jasper said Harry had nothing Jasper was jealous of.

"Oh, Alice, he didn't mean it like that. All he meant was why would he be jealous of a third year?"

"No, he meant it. I don't want to waste my life pining over Jasper Hale when there are plenty of boys who would be more than happy to date me. Besides, he can get any girl he wants—why would he waste his time with me?"

Angelina shook her head. "You don't see the way he looks at you—it's tender and sweet. You should tell him now, while he's still single. He's not going to stay that way for long."

I thought over her words as I made my way back to the common room. When I got there, I saw Rosalie, Edward, and Bella sitting by the fire, working on something for Potions. Everyone around them was buzzing excitedly.

"What's going on?" I asked.

"First Hogsmeade weekend," Bella said, pointing to the bulletin board. "End of October on Halloween."

"Excellent," Emmett said, standing next to Rosalie. "I need to visit Zonko's—I'm almost out of Stink Pellets."

"Do you really think that's a good idea? If Carlisle finds out you're spending all your money on stuff at Zonko's…"

"Well, he won't find out if you don't _tell_ him," Emmett retorted. With that, he walked over to the corner where Red, George, Jasper, and Lee were playing a loud game of Exploding Snap.

I sank into the chair next to Rosalie, sighing loudly. Bella knew what I was thinking.

"Alice, I'm sure you'll be able to go next time—they're bound to catch Black before then."

"Black's not stupid enough to go into Hogsmeade," Edward snapped. "Why don't you just ask McGonagall if you can go?"

"Edward! Alice is supposed to stay in school where it's _safe_!"

"Come on, Bella," Rosalie said, jumping to my defense. "Alice can't be the only third year left in school." Just then, Crookshanks leapt up on Bella's lap, a dead spider dangling from his mouth. I looked over and saw Edward squirm uncomfortably in his chair. "Keep that thing away from me—Scabbers is sleeping in my bag."

As if the cat head heard exactly what Rosalie said, he pounced on her bag, tearing viciously at it.

"HEY!" she shrieked. "GET OFF YOU STUPID ANIMAL!" She threw Crookshanks off her bag and pulled it to her chest. Crookshanks darted towards Rosalie again, but Edward grabbed him and yanked him off the ground.

"Crookshanks, are you okay?" Bella squealed, taking her cat from Edward and stroking him.

"You keep that cat away from me!" Rosalie shouted. "There's something wrong with him—he heard me say Scabbers was in my bag!"

"That's ridiculous," Bella huffed. "Crookshanks could smell him, Rose. How else do you—"

"That cat has it in for Scabbers! Scabbers was here first—and he's ill!" With that, Rosalie grabbed her bag and marched up to the dormitory.

***

The whole week, Rosalie wouldn't speak to Bella. In every class, even when we worked on something as a group, she would ignore her. I was determined to ask Professor Mcinagall if I could go to Hogsmeade that Transfiguration. When we got there, however, there were a group of students crowding around Hermione Granger. Lavender and Parvati had here arms around her while she sobbed.

"What happened?" I asked, approaching the group.

"She got a letter from home his morning," Lavender whispered.

"It's her puppy, Lily—she was hit by a car."

"Oh, I'm so sorry, Hermione," Bella said kindly. That was the first time I had seen her speak to her former friend all year.

"I should have known," Hermione said. "You do know what day it is, don't you?"

"Uh, can't say I do," Bella said.

"It's the sixteenth of October! Remember what Professor Trelawney said? 'That thing you're dreading, it will happen on the sixteenth of October.' She was right!" She buried her head in Lavender's shoulder as she broke down into more tears.

Bella paused a moment. "You were dreading Lily being hit by a car?" Bella asked skeptically.

"Well, not necessarily by a car, but I was dreading her dying, obviously."

"Oh." Pause. "Was she an old dog?"

"No, she was just a puppy!" she sobbed.

"Then why would you dread her dying?" Bella asked. Lavender stared at her, dumbfounded. "I mean, look at it logically. Lily didn't die today—Hermione only found out about it. And she can't have been dreading it because it came as a real shock—"

"Don't mind Bella," Rosalie said, moving close to Hermione. "She doesn't care about other people's pets.

Professor McGonagall opened the door at that moment, which was good because Rosalie and Bella looked like they were about to kill each other. When we sat down in class, Edward and I were in the middle with Bella and Rosalie on either side of us. They didn't speak the entire lesson.

When the bell rang, I still had no idea what I was going to say to Professor McGonagall. Luckily, she brought up the subject first. "One moment," she called as people started packing up. "Since you are all in my house, you should hand in your Hogsmeade form to me before Halloween. No form, no visiting the village, so don't forget."

"Ask her now!" Edward whispered to me.

"But—" Bella began.

"Do it!" Rosalie encouraged.

Once everyone had left the room, I took a deep breath and headed for her desk.

"Yes, Miss Brandon?"

"Professor, my aunt and uncle—um—forgot to sign my form." She looked at me over her glasses, not showing any emotion. "So, do you think it would be all right—I mean, is it okay—if I go to Hogsmeade?"

"I'm afraid not, Miss Brandon. You heard what I said—no form, no visiting the village. That's the rule." She got up and started walking towards the door.

"But—you know my aunt and uncle are Muggles. They don't understand about Hogwarts. I mean, if you said I could go—"

"But I don't," she said, turning around to look at me. "The form clearly states that either a parent or guardian must sign the form. Since I am neither, there's nothing I can do. I am sorry, Miss Brandon, but that's my final word."

Edward called Professor McGonagall a bunch of names that made Bella clap her hands over her ears on the way to our next lesson. Bella said everything was for the best, which caused Rosalie to become even angrier at her than she already was. I had to listen to everyone talking excitedly about the trip in the common room, which made me want to throw something.

"There's always the feast," Rosalie reminded me, trying to cheer me up. "That's always a load of fun."

"Yeah," I sighed, leaning my head against the chair.

"What's up with her?" a voice asked.

"She's bummed because her aunt and uncle didn't sign the Hogsmeade form," Edward said.

I felt someone kneel next to me and take my hand.

"_We won!" I screamed, leaping up and down as the rest of the team swooped around me. The Snitch was in my fist, and I waved it for everyone to see. The stands were loud with all the Gryffindors cheering for us. As long as Hufflepuff lost to Ravenclaw, we still had a shot at the Cup._

"_Excellent flying, Alice!" Wood shouted, lifting me into the air. Emmett and George were high-fiving while Fred gave Angelina a hug._

_Once Wood put me on the ground, I looked around and saw Jasper running towards me._

"_Jasper, we won!" I shouted, jumping into his arms and throwing my arms around his neck. What I didn't expect was his reaction._

_Jasper's lips met mine, and time seemed to stop. Instead of pulling back, I responded enthusiastically, kissing him back. Jasper wrapped his arms around my waist, and I pulled him closer to me. I could feel everyone on the team watching us, but I didn't care. After a minute, we parted._

_I looked up at him. "Wow," was all I managed to say._

"Alice, don't worry about not being able to go to Hogsmeade," Jasper said to me. "Everything will be okay, trust me." He got up and walked back over to Emmett, Fred, George, and Jasper.

Rosalie raised her eyebrows at me, but I ignored her. Jasper seemed to be paying a lot of attention to me, yet he didn't seem to want to date me. Harry walked over to me and started talking about the Hogsmeade trip. When I informed him I wasn't going, he stopped talking and just sat with me.

I really liked Harry, but if there was any chance Jasper had feelings for me, I was going for it, boyfriend or no boyfriend.


	27. Who is That Dog in the Stands?

Chapter 25: Who is That Dog in the Stands?

**AN: Thank you for the reviews everyone. I love each and every one of you!**

On Halloween morning, I woke up to the sun shining through my window. It was a beautiful Saturday morning, but I'd be spending the day in the castle instead of in Hogsmeade with the rest of my friends. I sighed as I got out of bed and pulled on a pair of jeans with a black tank top and a blue sweater. I slipped on my sneakers before going to sit in the common room and wait for the rest of my friends.

When I got there, Jasper was sitting by the fire, reading a book.

"Good morning," I greeted him. He placed the book down and looked up at me.

"Oh, hey, Alice. I didn't think anyone else would be awake for awhile."

"Yeah, me neither. What are you reading?" I asked.

"Oh, just something for Defense Against the Dark Arts. I'm determined to study really hard this year so I do well in my O.W.L.s. You know, the examination in May for fifth years."

"Oh, that," I said. "I wouldn't worry if I were you. You're so smart, I'm sure you'll do great."

"Hey, you want to head down to the Great Hall and get something to eat? I'm starving."

"Well, I was going to wait for Rosalie, Bella, and Edward, but I'm really hungry, so sure."

"Great," Jasper said, a smile breaking onto his face. The two of us left the common room and headed down to the Great Hall. The castle seemed deserted, but that could have been because it was early on Saturday morning.

"So, what do you think is going to happen tonight?" I asked, grabbing a slice of toast.

"Excuse me?"

"It's Halloween. The past two years, something bad has happened on Halloween—first year, Quirrell let the troll in, and last year, Rosalie opened the Chamber of Secrets."

"Maybe Sirius Black will get into the castle," he teased.

"With the dementors guarding all the entrances? I'd like to see him try!"

Jasper laughed. "Besides, what would he want at Hogwarts. It's not like he's searching for someone or anything, right?"

I laughed nervously and shifted in my seat. Jasper didn't notice—he was too busy filling his plate with food. I looked over towards the entrance and saw a tall, handsome boy with tank skin walking into the Great Hall. He took a seat at the Hufflepuff table with a group I recognized as the Hufflepuff Quidditch team.

"Who's that?" I asked, pointing to the boy who had just entered.

"Oh, him," he said disgustedly. "That's Jacob Black—he's the Hufflepuff Seeker."

"He's so handsome," I breathed, staring at him. He saw me looking and smiled before I turned away, my cheeks burning.

"Don't you have a _boyfriend_?" he reminded me.

"Oh, shut up," I said, throwing my toast at him. "I'm allowed to think other guys are _attractive_. There's no rule prohibiting that."

"I guess not," he admitted.

"Beautiful best-friend Alice!" a voice sang. I turned around and saw Rosalie dancing towards the table followed by Bella and Edward. They were all dressed for Hogsmeade—coats, scarves, and sneakers. Rosalie sat down next to me while Edward and Bella sat on the other side of the table.

"I'll talk to you later, Alice," Jasper said, getting up. "Have a fun day at the castle." He winked at me before walking away.

"Would Harry be happy to find out you've been having early morning breakfasts with Jasper?" Bella asked, raising her eyebrows.

"Probably not. Which is why he won't find out," I threatened. Rosalie laughed, bouncing her curls. I saw Jacob Black look over at our table. Of course he was enchanted by Rosalie—every boy was.

"Who's that?" Bella asked, pointing towards Jacob.

"Jacob Black—he's the Seeker for the Hufflepuff Quidditch team.

"He's so dreamy," she sighed.

"Tell me about it," I whispered.

"He _is_ pretty cute," Rosalie admitted.

"Why do I hang out with a bunch of girls," Edward gagged.

"Oh, stop being such a baby," Bella said, smacking him on the shoulder. I glanced back and saw Jacob Black was still staring at us. "Why is he staring at us?" Bella asked.

"I don't know. He's probably looking at the blonde beauty sitting next to me," I said, nudging Rose.

"As if. He probably wants to get a good look at the famous Alice Brandon—like everyone else in this school."

"Oh, whatever," Edward said, sounding annoyed. "Can we hurry up and eat? I want to go to Hogsmeade!" The three of them ate quickly. Once Bella had finished her bowl of oatmeal, we got up from the table and made our way to the entrance of the castle. I hung back while they got in line, waiting to have their names checked off by Filch.

"Staying behind, Brandon?" Malfoy called from the line, surrounded by a group of Slytherins. "Guess you don't want to have to pass the scary dementors." His group erupted into laughter. I waved goodbye to my friends before turning around and heading up to Gryffindor Tower. I was feeling miserable, knowing I was the only third year left in the castle.

"Password?" the Fat Lady asked.

"Fortuna Major," I replied. She swung open, allowing me entrance to the common room. It was filled with a bunch of first and second years, along with a few older students who had obviously been to Hogsmeade enough times that they didn't care about it anymore.

"Alice! Hi, Alice!" a small voice squeaked. I looked over and saw Jessica Stanley sitting at a table with a bunch of her friends. "Aren't you going to Hogsmeade, Alice? Why not? Hey, you could come sit with us if you want, Alice!" She looked eagerly at her friends, all of whom looked excited about the possibility of having the famous Alice Brandon sit with them.

"No thanks, Jessica," I said, not in the mood to have a group of second years stare at my forehead for six hours. "I—I have to go to the library to catch up on my work. You know, Quidditch practices are making me fall behind." I waved weakly at her before climbing back out the portrait hole.

"What was the point of waking me up if you were going to climb back out a few minutes later?" the Fat Lady called after me. Sighing, I headed down towards the library. When I was about half way there, I decided I didn't really want to do any work right now. I turned around, and came face to face with Filch.

"What are you doing?" he growled suspiciously.

"Nothing," I said.

"Nothing!" he snarled, obviously not believing me. "A likely story. Well, why aren't you in Hogsmeade with the rest of your nasty friends, buying Stink Pellets and Belch Powder and all sorts of things to cause me misery?"

I shrugged my shoulders, unsure of what kind of answer he wanted.

"Get back to your common room where you belong!" he snapped. He watched me until I turned the corner and was out of his sight range. Instead of going back to Gryffindor Tower, I climbed a set of stairs, heading to the Owlery to visit Venus. I passed an open door when a voice called out to me.

"Alice?"

I looked in and saw Professor Lupin sitting at his desk.

"What are you doing? Where are Bella, Edward, and Rosalie?"

"Hogsmeade," I said miserably.

"Ah." He looked at me for a moment. "Why don't you come inside? I've just received a grindylow for our next lesson."

"A what?" I asked, walking inside.

"A water demon," he said, walking over to a large tank of water. Inside, there was a green creature with sharp horns on its head. Its face was pressed against the glass, and its beady eyes followed every movement in the room. "We shouldn't have much difficulty with him, not after the kappas. The trick with grindylows is to break their grip. You see his long fingers?" he said, pointing to the spindly fingers pressed against the glass. "They're strong, but very brittle."

I walked away from the tank, slightly freaked out by the green creature.

"Cup of tea?" Lupin asked. "I was thinking of making one."

"Uh, okay," I said awkwardly.

"Sit down, Alice," he said, pointing to a chair while he got up to get the teakettle. "I only have tea bags, but I bet you've had enough of tea leaves?"

"How did you—"

"Professor McGonagall told me," he said. "You're not worried, are you?"

"No, Bella's right—it's just a bunch of superstition." I didn't bother mentioning the dog I saw in Magnolia Crescent—I didn't want Lupin to think I was paranoid on top of being a coward. He already thought I couldn't handle a simple boggart.

"Is something bothering you, Alice?"

"No," I said quickly. Lupin looked at me. "Why didn't you let me fight the boggart?"

"Well, I thought that would have been obvious," Lupin said. I was surprised—he didn't even try to deny that he'd done that.

"Why?" I asked again.

"Well, I assumed the boggart would take the form of Lord Voldemort, and I didn't think it would be a good idea for him to materialize in the staff room. I imagine people would have panicked." I was stunned—it was the last answer I had expected and Lupin had said Voldemort's name, something I had only heard Professor Dumbledore do.

"I didn't think of Voldemort," I admitted. "I—I remembered the dementors."

"I'm impressed," he said, beaming at me. "This suggests that what you fear most of all—is fear. Very wise, Alice."

I was about to ask Lupin about dementors when we were interrupted by a knock on the door.

"Come in," Lupin called. Snape strode in, carrying a goblet that was smoking. When he saw me, his black eyes narrowed and the corners of his mouth pulled into a sneer. "Ah, Severus, thank you very much. Could you leave it on the desk for me?"

"You should drink that directly, Lupin," Snape said, ignoring my presence. "I have an entire cauldron full in my office if you need anymore."

"I should probably take some more tomorrow. Thank you again, Severus." Snape gave Lupin a look that unsettled me, then backed out of the room. Lupin took the goblet off the desk. "Professor Snape has been kind enough to brew a potion for me. I have never been much of a potion-maker myself, and this particular one is very complicated to make." He sniffed the goblet and made a disgusted face. "Pity sugar makes it useless." He took a sip and shuddered.

"Why—"

"I've been feeling a bit off-color recently, and this potion is the only thing that helps. I am lucky to be working with Professor Snape—very few witches and wizards can brew this potion correctly." He drained the goblet. "Disgusting. Well, I'd better get back to work. I'll see you at the feast later."

"Right," I said. I looked at the goblet once more before I left, and saw it was still smoking.

***

"Here you go," Rosalie said, placing a bag by my feet. "We got all we could carry."

I looked inside and saw all kinds of sweets in different colored wrappers. Rosalie, Edward, and Bella had just gotten back from Hogsmeade. Their cheeks were pink from the wind, and they looked like they had had the best day of their lives.

"Thanks," I said, picking up a sugar quill. "So, what's Hogsmeade like? Where did you go?" From the way they were going on, it sounded like they had been everywhere—Zonko's, where they ran into Fred, George, Emmett, Jasper, and Lee replenishing their supply of joke things, Dervish and Banges, The Three Broomsticks for a hot mug of butterbeer, and a bunch of other places.

"The post office!" Edward exclaimed. "You should have seen it, Alice! There are more than 200 owls sitting in there, color-coded, depending on how fast you want your letter delivered."

"Honeydukes had this new kind of fudge. We brought you back some, look—"

"We _think_ we saw an ogre. I mean, they get all sorts of folks at the Three Broomsticks—"

"I wish we could have brought you back some butterbeer. It really warms you up—"

"So, what did you do all day?" Bella asked. "Did you get any work done?"

"No. Professor Lupin made me a cup of tea in his office before Snape came in…" I told them about the goblet Snape brought in, and their moths fell open.

"He _drank_ it?" Edward gasped. "Is he insane? Does he have a death wish?"

"We need to get down to the feast," Bella said, grabbing all of our hands.

"_Where are we?" I asked Bella, looking around. We were surrounded by trees, but the area did not look familiar whatsoever._

"_It's where we camped out during the Quidditch World Cup—it was the first place I thought of."_

"_Why aren't we at Grimauld Place?" Edward asked._

"_Well, when we apparated there from the Ministry, that one Death Eater grabbed onto my leg. I tried to shake him off, but he wouldn't let go. I accidentally brought him inside the enchantments. I think—oh god—I think I showed him where we were. Since we were all Secret Keepers after Dumbledore died, I showed him the location. He's probably telling all the other Death Eaters where it is. We can't go back there. I'm so sorry, Alice!"_

"_It's okay," I said, my voice emotionless. "It was an accident."_

"_I feel terrible, though," she said. "I mean, you were getting along so well with Kreacher, and now he's stuck there with those horrible people."_

"_Do you think he'll rat us out?" Rosalie asked._

"_No, I don't think so. I think he grew to actually like us. Even you, Bella," I said, nudging her in the ribs._

"Alice!" Bella shouted. I opened my eyes and saw that my three friends were surrounding me, looking slightly worried.

"What did you see?" Rosalie asked.

"I'm not exactly sure. We were all older, and we were in some forest. Bella mentioned Dumbledore being dead and someone named Kreacher, but nothing really happened."

"What the heck is a Kreacher?" Edward asked. I shrugged my shoulders as I got up and the four of us headed down to the feast.

"Well, if Snape _was_ trying to poison Lupin, he wouldn't have done in front of Alice, right?" Bella asked quietly so we weren't overheard.

"Yeah, maybe," I said. "But I wouldn't put it past him—Snape would do almost anything for the Defense Against the Dark Arts job." I took a seat next to Harry at the table and scooped some food onto my plate. Like usual, the Great Hall was decorated with hundreds of pumpkins filled with candles, live bats fluttering in the air, and moving orange streamers.

The food was excellent—even the people who were full from Hogsmeade managed to eat two helpings. I glanced up at the staff table, but Professor Lupin seemed fine, talking to Professor Flitwick.

The feast finished off with a show put on by the ghosts of Hogwarts. Nearly Headless Nick reenacted his own beheading to the delight of everyone. Even Malfoy couldn't ruin the evening when he shouted, "The dementors send their love, Alice!"

Once the feast had ended, Rosalie, Edward, Bella, and I walked back to the common room with Ron, Hermione, and Harry. We were half way down the corridor when we had to stop—it was jam-packed with students.

"What's going on?" Bella asked. "Why isn't anyone going in?"

I tried looking over the heads of the people in front of me, but even though they were first years, they were still taller than I was. "The portrait's closed," Harry said, standing on his tiptoes. "Everyone can't have forgotten the password."

"Let me through!" came Percy's voice as he pushed past people in the crowded corridor. "I'm Head Boy—what's the hold up here? What's going—" Percy stopped talking when he reached the portrait, and a silence fell over the corridor. "Quick! Someone get Professor Dumbledore!" he said, his voice panicking.

A moment later, Professor Dumbledore came striding through the mass of students. Everyone moved to the side, and I was able to get a look at what had happened.

"Oh, my," Bella gasped, covering her mouth. I didn't know what to say—the Fat Lady had vanished from her portrait, which had been slashed three times. The canvas was drooping off the frame, and some of it was on the floor.

"We need to find her," Professor Dumbledore said to the teachers around him. "Professor McGonagall, please find Mr. Filch and alert him to the situation. Instruct him to search every painting in the castle—we need to find her!"

"You'll be lucky," a voice cackled from above. Everyone looked up and saw Peeves floating above, obviously enjoying the chaos the situation had created.

"What do you mean, Peeves?" Dumbledore asked. Peeves face fell—he didn't dare taunt Dumbledore.

"Ashamed, Your Headship, sir," he said in a smug voice that was no better than his cackle. "Doesn't want to be seen. Saw her running upstairs through the landscapes on the fourth floor, dodging between trees. She's crying something dreadful," he said, the smile creeping back onto his face.

"Did she say who did it?" Dumbledore asked.

"Oh, yes," Peeves said, bobbing in the air. "He was very angry when she wouldn't let him in. Nasty temper he's got, that Sirius Black."

***

"How did he get in?" Bella asked from her sleeping bag on the floor of the Great Hall. After the discovery of the Fat Lady's portrait, Dumbledore had moved the entire school into the Great Hall and set us up with sleeping bags while he and the rest of the teachers conducted a thorough search of the castle.

"Maybe he knows how to apparate," Dean Thomas suggested from a few feet away.

"I bet he disguised himself," Seamus Finnigan said. "That way, no one would recognize him and he could sneak in undetected.

"He could have flown in," Ron volunteered.

"Honestly, am I the only one who's read _Hogwarts, A History_?" Bella said crossly to the group around us.

"Probably," Edward said. "Why?"

"Because the castle is protected by more than just _walls_," she scoffed. "I mean, there's all sorts of enchantments surrounding Hogwarts to prevent people from entering it by stealth. You can't apparate here, and I'd like to see a disguise that would fool those dementors. They're guarding every single entrance—they'd have seen him fly in. Plus, Filch knows all the secret passageways, so he'll have them covered."

"The lights are going out now!" Percy shouted, walking through the Great Hall. "Everyone in their sleeping bags, and no more talking!"

Every candle in the Great Hall was extinguished at once. The talking vanished, and people snuggled into their sleeping bags for their first ever camp out at Hogwarts. The ceiling made it seem like we were camping outside because it was covered with stars.

Teachers patrolled the sleeping bags, making sure everyone was asleep and silent. They would tell off kids for talking, so every time one of them passed us, Bella, Edward, Rosalie and I pretended to be asleep.

Around three in the morning, after most people had fallen asleep, Professor Dumbledore entered the Great Hall. He approached Percy, who was only a few feet from us. "Any sign of him, Headmaster?" Percy whispered.

"No. Is all well here?"

"I have everything under control, sir."

"Good. There's no point in waking them all up and moving them now. I found a temporary guardian for Gryffindor Tower. You can move your house back in tomorrow after breakfast."

"And the Fat Lady, sir?"

"Hiding in a map on the second floor. Apparently, she refused to allow Black entrance without the password, so he attacked her. She's still very distressed, but once she's calmed down, I'll have Mr. Filch restore her."

There was another set of footsteps approaching. They stopped where Professor Dumbledore and Percy were standing, and their owner spoke. "The whole third floor has been searched. He's not there. Filch finished searching the dungeons, and he's not there," Snape said.

"Very well, Severus. I didn't expect Black to linger."

"Do you have a theory as to how he got in?" Snape asked.

"Many. Each as unlikely as the next."

I opened my eyes a tiny bit so I could see the three men. Professor Dumbledore had his back to me, but Percy looked engrossed in the conversation, and Snape looked angry. "You remember the conversation we had, Headmaster, before the start of the term?" Snape asked.

"I do, Severus," Dumbledore said, his voice sounding more like a warning than like an answer.

"It seems almost impossible that Black could have entered the school without inside help. I did express my concerns when you appointed—"

"I do not believe a single person inside this castle would have helped Black enter it." His voice implied that the subject was closed. "I must go down to the dementors—I said I would inform them when our search was complete."

"Didn't they want to help, sir?" Percy asked.

"Oh, yes," Dumbledore said coldly. "But no dementor will cross the threshold of this school while I am headmaster." Percy looked taken aback as Dumbledore swept his robes behind him and out of the Great Hall. Snape still looked furious before turning around and telling off a few Hufflepuffs for talking.

"What was that about?" Rosalie whispered.

***

Over the next few days, Sirius Black was the subject of every single conversation in the castle. The theories about how he entered the castle became wilder as the days passed. Jenny Michaels from Hufflepuff tried to convince everyone Sirius Black could turn into a shrub—Dean Thomas was the only one who took her seriously.

The ripped canvas of the Fat Lady had been taken down and replaced by Sir Cadogan, a portrait of a knight on a fat pony. He was terrible—he spent half his time challenging people to duels and the other half thinking up ridiculously complicated passwords no one could remember. He also tried to flirt with Rosalie any time she walked by him.

"He's a lunatic!" Seamus exclaimed angrily to Percy. "Can't we get someone else?"

"There is no one else. He was the only one brave enough to take the job—most of the other portraits are terrified about what happened to the Fat Lady."

I didn't have time to be worried about Sir Cadogan and his crazy antics—I had other things to deal with. Since the attack, I was being closely watched. All the teachers (with the exception of Snape) seemed to find excuses to walk with me to each of my classes. Professor Flitwick went so far as to badger me about an assignment he claimed I hadn't turned in, then remembered me handing it to him once I had arrived at my next class.

Percy Weasley (acting on behalf of Mrs. Weasley) followed me everywhere like a guard dog. To top off everything, Professor McGonagall asked to speak to me after on Transfiguration lesson.

"There's no point in hiding it from you any more, Miss Brandon. I know this will come as a shock to you, but Sirius Black—"

"—is after me, I know," I sighed. "I heard Rosalie's mum telling her dad the night before we left for school.

She seemed stunned for a moment, then recovered herself. "I see. Well, in that case, you'll understand why I don't think you should practice Quidditch in the evenings. Out on the field with only your team members is very exposed—"

"We've got out first match this Saturday!" I exclaimed outraged. "I've got to train, Professor!"

She looked at me for a minute—I knew she wanted Gryffindor to win as much as I did. "Hmm…Well, goodness knows I'd like to see us win the cup at least. But all the same, I'd be happier if a teacher were there. I'll ask Madam Hooch to oversee your training sessions."

Over the week, the weather steadily declined. That didn't dampen Wood's spirits—he had us training harder than ever so we would be ready for Saturday's match against Slytherin. Thursday evening before our last training session, Wood came over to us, looking unhappy.

"What's wrong, Oliver?" Angelina asked.

"We're not playing Slytherin!" he said angrily. "Flint's just been to see me. We're playing Hufflepuff instead."

"Why?" the whole team, myself included, asked.

"Flint's excuse is that their Seeker's arm is still injured," he said bitterly. "It's obvious why they're doing it—they don't want to play in these conditions. Think it'll damage their chances…" As he said that, there was a rumble of thunder in the background.

"There's _nothing_ wrong with Malfoy's arm!" I shouted. "He's faking it!"

"I know that, but we can't prove it. And we've been practicing all these moves assuming we're playing Slytherin—Hufflepuff's style is completely different! They've got a new Captain and Seeker, Jacob Black—"

Angelina and I both giggled when we heard Jacob's name.

"What?" Wood asked, frowning at us.

"He's the really tall, handsome one, right?" I asked.

"Strong, yet silent," Angelina added. We started giggling again.

"He's sonly silent because he's too stupid to string two words together," Jasper said, looking at us with disgust. "I don't know why you're worried, Oliver. Hufflepuff is a pushover—last time we played them, Alice caught the Snitch in record time."

"We were playing in completely different conditions!" he shouted at Jasper, getting a fanatic look in his eyes. "Black's put a strong side together. He's an excellent Seeker—I was afraid you'd take it like this. We mustn't relax! We must keep our focus! We _must_ win!"

"Oliver, calm down," Fred said, looking at Wood nervously. "We're taking Hufflepuff very seriously. _Seriously_."

***

That Friday, the weather had gotten even worse over night, with the winds howling and the rain beating against the side of the castle. I didn't have enough room in my head to worry about the weather—I was too preoccupied with the match. Wood was harassing me, walking with me between every class and giving me tips. The third time, he kept me so long that I realized I was almost ten minutes late for Defense Against the Dark Arts. I started running down the corridor with Wood still shouting after me.

"Black's got a very fast swerve, Alice, so you might want to try looping him—"

I skidded to a stop in front of the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom, pulled the door open, and ran inside.

"I'm sorry I'm late, Professor Lupin, I—"

Professor Lupin didn't look up at me. Instead, Snape's cold black eyes looked me over. "The lesson began ten minutes ago, Brandon, so I believe I'll take ten points from Gryffindor. Take your seat."

I didn't move. "Where is Professor Lupin?"

"He finds himself too ill to teach today." He sneered at me. "I believe I told you to take your seat."

I stayed where I was. "What's wrong with him?"

"Nothing life threatening. Five more points from Gryffindor. Now take your seat, or it will be fifty." I walked over and sat next to Rosalie. She raised her eyebrows at me, warning me not to get into more trouble with Snape since he was obviously in a foul mood. "As I was saying before Miss Brandon interrupted, Professor Lupin has not left any record of the topics you have covered thus far—"

"Please sir, we've covered boggarts, Red Caps, kappas, and grindylows," Bella said, waving her hand in the air. "We were just about to—"

"Be quiet," Snape snapped at her."I did not ask for information, I was only making a note on Professor Lupin's lack of organization."

"He's the best Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher we've ever had!" Seamus Finnigan said bravely. There was a murmur of agreement through the room.

Snape gave us a smug look. "You are easily satisfied. Lupin is hardly challenging you—I would expect first years to be able to deal with Red Caps and grindylows. Today we shall discuss—"

I watched him flip to the back of the book to find something he knew we hadn't covered.

"—werewolves."

"But sir," Bella said, her hand shooting in the air again, "We're not supposed to do werewolves yet. We're supposed to be learning about hinkypunks—"

"Miss Swan, I was under the impression that I am teaching this class. Now all of you take out your books and turn to page 394." He glanced at the blank expressions on our faces. "Now!"

Everyone reached into their bags and pulled out their books while shooting angry glances at Snape.

"Which of you can tell me how to distinguish a werewolf from a true wolf?" Snape asked. There was no movement except for Bella and Hermione shooting their hands in the air, like usual. "Anyone?" he asked, ignoring the two of them. "Are you telling me Professor Lupin hasn't even taught you the basic—"

"We told you," Lavender said, "We haven't gotten that far yet. We're still on—"

"Silence!" Snape hissed at her. She shrunk back in her chair, looking terrified. "Well, well, well. I never thought I would meet a third-year class who wouldn't even recognize a werewolf when they saw one. I shall make sure to inform Professor Dumbledore how very behind you are."

"Please sir," Bella said her hand still in the air. Hermione lowered her hand and looked at Bella with awe. "The werewolf differs from the true wolf in several ways. The snout of the—"

"That's the third time you've spoken out of turn, Miss Swan," Snape said, cutting her off. "Five more points from Gryffindor for being an insufferable know-it-all."

Bella's face went bright red. She placed her forehead on the desk and stared down at the floor while tears pooled in her eyes. A silence fell over the class as every pair of eyes looked at Snape with hatred. All of us had called Bella a know-it-all at least once; Edward called her one daily. He stood up and said loudly, "Why did you ask a question if you didn't want to be told the answer?"

Everyone knew instantly he had gone too far. Snape walked towards Edward slowly. We all held our breath as Edward's face was drained of its color.

"Detention, Mr. Cullen. And be warned—if I ever hear you criticize the way I teach a class again, you will be very sorry indeed." Snape made us take notes on werewolves from the textbook the rest of the class while he patrolled through the room, commenting on the work we had been doing with Professor Lupin. "Very poorly explained," he said to Dean Thomas, his favorite student to bully. "That is incorrect, the kappa is more commonly found in Mongolia. Professor Lupin gave this an eight out of ten? I wouldn't have even given it a three…"

When the bell rang at the end of the class, Snape held us back.

"You will each write an essay on the ways to recognize and kill a werewolf. To be handed into me on Monday. Cullen, stay behind. We need to arrange your detention."

Bella, Rosalie, and I left the room with everyone else and waited outside for Edward to join us. Harry, Ron, and Hermione joined us.

"Are you okay?" Ron asked Bella, whose eyes were still puffy.

"Yeah, I'll be okay," she said, wiping her eyes again. Edward joined us a few minutes later, then the seven of us waited until we were out of earshot of Snape to express our distaste for the lesson.

"Snape's never been like this with any of our other Defense Against the Dark Arts teachers, even if he did want the job," Rosalie fumed. "Why's he got it in for Lupin? Do you think this is still about that stupid boggart?"

"I don't know," Bella said timidly. "I just hope Professor Lupin gets better soon."

"Do you know what that jerk is making me do?" Edward exploded, unable to contain himself any longer. We all looked at him. "I've got to scrub out the bedpans in the hospital. _Without magic_!" He was breathing deeply, his face turning red. "Why couldn't Black have hidden in Snape's office? He could have finished him off for us!"

***

Saturday morning, I woke up extremely early. So early that it was still dark outside. I though the wind had woken me before I felt the cold breeze on my neck. I turned around and saw Peeves blowing on me.

"What did you do that for?" I hissed. Peeves stuck his tongue out at me before zooming away, laughing at the top of his lungs. I looked around the room to make sure he hadn't woken anyone else up, but the other girls were all still fast asleep.

I reached around in the dark for my alarm clock, which said the time was half past four. Now that I was up, it was going to be impossible to fall asleep with the wind roaring in the background. Groaning, I quickly pulled on a pair of jeans and a black tee shirt before grabbing my Nimbus 2000 and heading down to the common room. I walked past Crookshanks, who was perched by Rosalie's bed. I grabbed him and carried him downstairs with me.

"I think Rosalie is right about you. There are plenty of mice in this castle—go bother them. Leave Scabbers alone." I took a seat in a chair by the fire and tried to rest, but the wind was even louder in the common room.

"Couldn't sleep?" a voice asked. I turned around and saw Jasper standing behind me with a smile on his face.

"Oh, no," I said, yawning. "Peeves woke me up, but then I couldn't fall back asleep with all this noise."

Jasper walked over and took a seat next to me, soaking up the heat from the fire. "Are you nervous about today?" he asked.

"Kind of. I mean, Jacob is so much bigger than me, which is usually a disadvantage, but in this weather, he's less likely to be blown off course. And it's not like they're going to cancel the match because of this."

"Yeah. We just have to make sure we're careful out there. Alice, promise me you won't do something stupid and get yourself hurt just to capture the Snitch."

"What's that supposed to mean?" I asked.

"It's just, you tend to get hurt a lot while playing Quidditch. I mean, your first year, you were almost thrown off your broom—"

"Only because Professor Quirrell was jinxing it!"

"—and last year you lost all the bones in your arm when that Bludger hit it."

"Dobby the house-elf tampered with the Bludger, and then Lockhart acted like an idiot and made the bones vanish."

Jasper sighed. "Just promise you'll be careful."

"Jasper, I'm always careful," I said smiling at me. Jasper reached over and tucked a lock of hair behind my ear, accidentally brushing my cheek with his finger.

"_Hey," Jasper greeted me as I walked up to him one night in the common room._

"_Hi," I said nervously. Rosalie was standing behind me, giving me little pushes to make sure I wouldn't chicken out._

"_What's up?" he asked._

"_Uh, could we talk?" I asked, looking around the common room. It was mostly empty with the exception of Fred, George, and Emmett sitting in the corner, muttering to each other._

"_Sure," he said. "What did you want to talk about?"_

"_I need to tell you something."_

"_Okay, so tell me."_

"_You have to promise not to laugh."_

"_Okay, I promise. Now tell me!"_

_I took a deep breath. Rosalie nudged me again. "I love you."_

_The smile fell off Jasper's face—he obviously wasn't expecting me to say that. "What?"_

"_I love you," I said again, this time with less confidence. Why wasn't he smiling? Why wasn't he happy about this? Didn't he like me?_

"_Uh, Alice, that's really nice and everything, but—uh—well, you see, this won't work."_

"_What?" I asked, my heart breaking in two. "What's wrong?"_

"_Well, you see, the thing is, I'm a sixth year, and you're only a fourth year. It just won't work out—I'm too old for you."_

_I looked at him, the tears building up in my eyes. "C'mon, let's go, Alice," Rosalie said, tugging at my arm._

"_So that's it?" I asked him. "You art like you like me all last year, then you say I'm too young? Well, screw you, Jasper! I don't want to see you or talk to you ever again!"_

"_Alice," he said, reaching for my hand._

"_Don't touch me!" I shouted, yanking my hand away before he could touch it. Rosalie and I walked up to our dormitory, where I collapsed onto my bed in tears._

"Alice? Are you okay?" Jasper asked, peering over me.

"What?" I said, looking around. "What happened?"

"You zoned out," he responded. "One minute we were talking, the next you looked like you were in a coma. Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, it's nothing," I said, still thinking about the vision I just had. I still felt the pain from what had just happened to me in the future.

After a few hours of conversation, Jasper and I decided to head down to breakfast. Jasper was helping me out of my chair when Harry and Ron decided to walk into the common room. Harry took one look at Jasper with his arm around my shoulder before stomping back upstairs.

"Great," I groaned. "Just what I need—Harry to be mad at me again."

"Why would he be mad at you?"

"He thinks there's something going on between us—which is so not the truth," I added, blushing slightly. Jasper and I walked into the Great Hall and took a seat at the Gryffindor table. Within ten minutes, we were joined by the rest of the Quidditch team.

"It's going to be a tough one," Wood said, not eating the eggs and bacon on his plate.

"Stop worrying, Oliver," Angelina said, trying to calm him down. "We don't mind a bit of rain."

It was more than a bit of rain. I was soaked to the bone by the time I made it into the team room at the pitch. I changed into my scarlet robe and sat on the bench with the rest of the team, waiting for Wood's pre-game talk. Wood opened his mouth and tried to speak several times, but nothing came out. He ended up just nodding his head and beckoning us to follow him.

When we walked onto the field, we couldn't hear the crowd over the wind. There were claps of thunder every so often, and I started to shiver as the icy rain hit my skin. The Hufflepuff team approached us from the other side, wadding through the mud.

Jacob Black approached Wood, and the two of them shook hands. Jacob smiled at Wood, but Wood, who's facial muscles seemed to not be working, just nodded. Madam Hooch blew her whistle, and both teams kicked off the ground. I rose fast, but I felt myself drifting to the side due to the wind.

I tried navigating around the field, but it was impossible with the wind. I was so wet that I was shivering. My arms were shaking so bad that I could barely hold onto the broom handle. I couldn't hear anything over the wind. My fingers were becoming numb, and the sky was getting darker by the minute, even though it wasn't even noon.

I knew I needed to find the Snitch soon, or we would be playing for hours. There was a flash of lightning as I ducked under Jacob Black, who was flying in the opposite direction. It was becoming dangerous to be in the air—the thunder and lightning was happening more frequently.

I turned around in the air when another flash of lightning illuminated the stands—allowing me to see the great shaggy dog sitting in the top of the stands. I froze in midair, almost getting hit by a Bludger. My hands slipped and my broom fell a few feet before I gained control of it again. When I looked back, the dog was gone.

"Alice!" Wood shouted at the top of his lungs. "Alice, behind you!"

I looked around and saw Jacob Black flying up the field, following a small speck of gold. I gripped the handle of my Nimbus 2000 and followed him, gaining on him each second.

"C'mon," I whispered. "Faster!"

Something strange was happening in the stadium. A silence had fallen, with the winds even forgetting to roar. It was like I had suddenly gone deaf—what was happening? The familiar wave of cold swept over me, and I felt sick to my stomach. Oh no—not here—not now.

Without thinking, I took my eyes off the Snitch and looked down. At least a hundred dementors were gliding onto the field, their faces pointed up at me. It felt like the freezing rain water was rising in my chest and drowning me. And then, I heard the woman screaming again.

"_Not Alice! Not Alice! Please, don't kill my baby!"_

"_Stand aside, you silly girl."_

"_No, not Alice! Take me instead!"_

A white fog was filling my brain. What was I doing here? I had to go help her—she was going to die! I felt myself falling, falling through an icy mist.

"_Not Alice! Please, have mercy!"_

A cold voice was laughing as the woman screamed, and then there was nothing.

***

"…good thing the ground was soft."

"I thought she was dead for sure."

"That was the scariest thing I've seen."

I could hear voices above me, but they didn't make any sense. I didn't know where I was or what had happened. All I knew was that every inch of my body ached. Suddenly, images came rushing back. Black cloaks…rain…Quidditch match…the dementors…screaming…

My eyes snapped open, and I saw the entire Quidditch team, plus Bella, Rosalie, Edward, and Harry, staring down at me. They were all soaked and (in the case of the Quidditch team,) covered in mud. "Where am I?" I asked.

"The hospital wing," Bella said, her face extremely white. "How are you? Are you okay?"

"What happened?" I asked, sitting up.

"You fell off your broom," Jasper said, his eyes red and bloodshot. "It must have been fifty feet."

"We thought you died," Angelina said, still shaking. Fred put his arm around her to help calm her down.

"But the match! What happened? Are we doing a replay?"

No one said anything.

"We didn't—_lose?_"

"No one blames you, Alice," Emmett said slowly. "Black got the Snitch just as you fell. He didn't realize what had happened until he looked back and saw you on the ground. He tried to call it off—wanted a rematch—but they won fair and square. Even Wood admits it."

"Where is he?" I asked.

"Still in the showers," George said. "We think he's trying to drown himself."

Rosalie sighed. "I'll go make sure he's still alive." She looked at me one last time before walking out of the hospital wing to track down my Quidditch captain.

I dropped my face in my hands as I tried to wrap my mind around what had just happened.

"Come on, Alice. You've never missed the Snitch before. There had to be _one_ time you didn't get it."

"It's not over yet," Fred said. "We only lost by a hundred points. So if Hufflepuff loses to Ravenclaw and we beat Ravenclaw and Slytherin…"

"Ravenclaw will have to murder Hufflepuff for us to have a chance," Emmett said.

"But if they beat Ravenclaw…"

"Won't happen," Fred said. "Ravenclaw is too good. But if Slytherin loses to Hufflepuff…"

"It all depends on the points."

Harry was sitting next to me, gripping the railing on my bed. Jasper was on the other side, not saying anything. Both of their faces were white and their eyes red—they had obviously both been crying. I didn't say anything. We had lost…for the first time _ever_, I had lost at Quidditch.

After ten minutes, Rosalie returned without Wood. "I made him go back to the common room—he's in no state to talk to anybody right now. Why don't you lot go and cheer him up?" she suggested to the team. They all agreed and walked out of the room, trailing mud behind them. Jasper glanced back at me one more time before leaving. Once they were gone, Rosalie, Bella, Edward, and Bella all moved closer to me.

"Dumbledore was really mad," Edward said, his voice shaking. "I've never seen him like that. He ran onto the field and waved his wand while you were falling so you sort of slowed down before you hit the ground. Then, he shot some silvery stuff out of his wand at the dementors—it made them all leave. He was so angry they had come onto the grounds. We heard him—"

"Then, he magicked you onto a stretcher," Harry said in a quiet voice. "And he walked up to the school with you floating on it. Everyone thought you were…" He didn't finish the sentence, but I knew what he was saying. I didn't really notice—I was too busy thinking about the dementors and what they had done to me. When I looked up, I saw everyone staring at me anxiously.

"Did someone grab my Nimbus?" I asked, grasping for something to say so I could think about the screaming woman.

The four of them looked at each other.

"Um…"

"What?" I asked.

"Well, when you fell off, the broom got blown away," Bella said cautiously.

"And?"

"It hit—oh, it hit the Whomping Willow. Well, you know that tree—it doesn't like being hit."

"Professor Flitwick brought it back just before you came around," Rosalie said, slowly reaching for a bag on the ground. She tipped it onto my lap, where a dozen bits of splintered wood and twigs fell, the only remains of my faithful, finally beaten, broomstick.

**New chapter will be up by Friday. I meant to have this up yesterday, but I had computer issues. Sorry!**


	28. Sirius Black's Worst Crime

Chapter 26: Sirius Black's Worst Crime

Madam Pomfrey made me stay in the hospital wing all weekend, but I could see her point—I had just fallen fifty feet off a broomstick and lived to tell the tale. I wouldn't let her throw away the remains of my broomstick. She said I was being ridiculous, but I didn't care. That broom had been like my best friend, but now it was gone.

I had a lot of visitors, all determined to cheer me up. Hagrid came to see me, bringing a bunch of earwiggy flowers with him. Bella, Edward, and Rosalie only left me at night, and Harry even stayed overnight (with the permission of Madam Pomfrey.) The team came to visit me again Sunday morning, this time with Wood. I could see in his face he was depressed, but he told me in a dead voice that he didn't blame me for what happened. Rosalie stood next to him, patting him on the shoulder.

No matter how many visitors I had, none of them could make me feel better because none of them knew what was really bothering me. It wasn't the fact that we had lost the match or my broom was destroyed, it was the fact that I had seen the Grim again. I didn't bother telling my friends because I knew Edward and Rosalie would panic while Bella would scoff at them panicking. That was twice I had seen it, and both times had followed with a near-fatal accident: I was almost run over by the Knight Bus, and I fell off my broomstick.

There was the other issue of the dementors. I felt humiliated every time I thought of them. Everyone said they were horrible, but I was the only one who passed out around them. No one else heard their parents being murdered—I knew who the screaming voice belonged to now. I heard my mother screaming while I slept in the hospital wing. Now, I knew what happened—how she had begged Voldemort to spare me, to take her instead. How he had laughed mercilessly before killing her and moving on to me.

I was relived to return to school on Monday where I had to think about other things besides my screaming, dying mother, even if it meant I had to endure Draco Malfoy's taunting. He was so happy Gryffindor had lost that he decided to retire the sling and resume fainting impressions of me. He spent the entire potions class pretending to be a dementor that ended when Edward chucked a crocodile heart at him and Snape took fifty points away from Gryffindor.

"If he's teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts again, I'm skipping," Edward fumed. "Bella, check and see who's there."

"It's okay!" she said, opening the door. Professor Lupin was sitting at his desk, looking much worse for wear. His robes were hanging off his body and there were dark shadows under his eyes.

As soon as class began, everyone started complaining about Snape.

"It's not fair! He was only filling in—why should he give us homework?"

"We don't know anything about werewolves!"

"Didn't you tell him we haven't covered them yet?" Professor Lupin asked, frowning slightly.

"Yes but he wouldn't listen."

"He said we were really behind—"

"Don't worry," he said smiling. "You don't have to do the essay. I'll talk to Professor Snape about it."

"Oh no," Bella exclaimed. "I already finished it!" I laughed silently when she said that—of course she had already done it.

The lesson was very enjoyable with Professor Lupin teaching again. He brought in a hinkypunk, a small creature made of smoke that looked frail and harmless.

"It lures travelers into bogs," he said while we all took notes. "You see the lantern dangling from its hand? It hops ahead—people follow the light—then—" The hinkypunk made a squelching noise against the glass, and I shivered in my seat.

Once class was over, I packed up my things to leave, but Lupin called me over. "Alice, can I talk to you real quick?" I shrugged at Bella, Edward, Rosalie, and Harry before doubling back to talk to him. "I heard about the match," he said, covering the hinkypunk's tank. "I'm very sorry about your broomstick. Is there anything they can do for it?"

I shook my head. "No, the tree smashed it to bits."

Lupin sighed. "They planted that tree the same year I came to Hogwarts. People used to play games, seeing how close they could get to it. Eventually, a boy names Davey Gudgeon almost lost an eye, and we were forbidden to go near it. A broomstick wouldn't have a fighting chance."

"Did you hear about the dementors?" I asked quietly.

"I did. I don't think anyone at this school has seen Professor Dumbledore that angry. They have been growing restless for some time…furious that he refuses to let them on the grounds when there are so many happy souls. I guess the Quidditch match was too much for them to resist. I suppose they were the reason you fell?"

I nodded. I hesitated for a moment. "Why? Why do they affect me that way, but no one else? Am I just…weak?"

"It has nothing to do with strength or weakness. The dementors affect you worse because you have experienced things in your life that are more horrible than most people could imagine. Dementors are among the foulest creatures that walk this earth. They infest the dark, filthiest places, draining peace, hope, and happiness out of the air around them. Even Muggles feel their presence, though they cannot see them. If the dementor can get near enough to feed, it will reduce you to something like itself—soul-less and evil. You will be left with nothing but the worst experiences of your life, and the worst experiences of your life, Alice, are enough to make any person fall off their broom."

"When they get near me, I can hear Voldemort murdering my mum," I said quietly.

Lupin gasped softly before gripping his desk.

"Azkaban must be terrible," I said.

Lupin nodded darkly. "Azkaban is set on a tiny island in the middle of the sea, but they don't need walls to keep the prisoners there, not when they're trapped in their own heads, incapable of a single cheerful thought. Many go mad within a few weeks."

"But Sirius Black got away," I reminded him. "He escaped from them."

Lupin's hand slipped off the desk, and he quickly had to steady himself so he didn't fall over. "Yes, Black must have found a way to fight the dementors. I wouldn't have believed it possible—dementors are supposed to drain a wizard of his powers if he is left with them too long."

"You made that dementor on the train leave," I said, remembering Bella and the others saying something silvery shot out of his wand.

"There are—certain defenses one can use to defend themselves against dementors. But there was only one dementor on the train. The more there are, the more difficult it becomes to resist the hopeless feelings inside of you."

"I want to learn," I said suddenly. "I need to know how to defend myself. Can you teach me?"

"I don't pretend to be an expert—"

"—but if the dementors come to the next Quidditch match, I need to be able to fight them. If we lose again, we're out of the running for the cup."

Lupin looked at my face, full of determination. "Well, okay. I'll try to help, but we'll have to wait until next term. I have a lot to do before the holidays and I chose the wrong time to get sick."

***

With the promise of anti-dementor lessons and the idea that I might never have to hear my mum begging for her life again, my mood improved. The other piece of good news was that Ravenclaw flattened Hufflepuff, which meant we still had a shot at the Cup.

Wood was once again possessed of his obsessive energy to win and trained us every day, rain or shine. Every practice I was soaked, cold, and tired, but I didn't see a single dementor on the grounds. Dumbledore's anger was probably keeping them at their stations in the front of the school.

Halfway through December, the grounds were covered with frost, putting everyone in the Christmas spirit. Both Rosalie and Bella decided to stay at Hogwarts over the break (Edward had to visit his mother, like usual). Rosalie said she couldn't spend two weeks with Percy and his girlfriend (who was staying at their house,) and Bella said she needed to use the library, I knew it was because they wanted to keep me company.

Another notice in the common room told everyone there was another Hogsmeade trip the last week of term. Everyone was excited. Well, everyone but me.

"We can do all our Christmas shopping!" Bella said happily. "Charlie would really love some of those singing peppermints from Honeydukes."

Knowing that I would be the only third year left behind again, I borrowed _Which Broomstick?_ From Wood so I could read up on the types of brooms and order a new one. I was riding a school broom during practice currently, and it was not working out well. It was an old Shooting Star, and when I rode it for more then ten minutes, it tended to jerk to the left.

Saturday morning, I said goodbye to Bella, Edward, Rosalie, and Harry before heading back towards Gryffindor Tower. Snow was starting to fall outside the window, and the castle was very quiet.

"Pst! Alice!"

I turned around and saw Fred, George, and Emmett crouched in a corner, beckoning me towards them. Right next to them was the statue of the humpbacked, one-eyed witch.

"What are you doing here?" I asked. "Why aren't you going to Hogsmeade?"

"We are, we just decided to give you a bit of holiday cheer before we go," Fred said, winking. "Come in here…" I followed the three of them into an empty classroom next to the statue, wondering what they were up to. "Early Christmas present for you, Alice," he said, putting a piece of parchment into my hands. It was large, square, and very worn.

"What is this supposed to be?" I asked, guessing it was some joke of theirs.

"This, Alice, is the secret to our success," Emmett said, gazing at the piece of parchment with love. "It's a wrench giving it to you, but we decided your needs are greater than ours."

"Besides," George added, "We don't need it anymore—we know it by heart now."

"And what do I need this bit of old parchment for?" I asked, holding it in front of my eyes, hoping to see something useful on it. It remained as black as when they placed it in my hands,.

"A bit of old parchment?" Fred asked in an offended voice, covering his eyes. "George, Emmett, please explain."

"Well," George began, "When we were in our first year—young, carefree, and innocent—"

I laughed aloud—I couldn't help it. I just couldn't imagine a time when Fred, George, or Emmett had ever been innocent.

"Well, more innocent than we are now," Emmett said. "Anyways, we got into a spot of bother with Filch."

"We let off a Dungbomb in the corridor, and it upset him for some reason."

"So, he hauled us off to his office and started threatening us with the usual—"

"—detention—"

"—disembowelment—"

"—and we couldn't help noticing a drawer in one of the cabinets marked _Confiscated and Highly Dangerous_."

"Don't tell me," I said, a smile spreading onto my face.

"Put yourself in our spot, Alice—what would you have done?" Fred asked.

"Emmett caused a diversion by dropping another Dungbomb he had in his pocket, and I opened the drawer and grabbed _this_."

"It's not as bad as it sounds," Emmett said. "We don't reckon Filch ever found out how to work it. He probably suspected what it was, though, or he wouldn't have confiscated it."

"And you know how to work it?" I asked skeptically.

"Alice, who do you think you're talking to? This little beauty's taught us more than all the teachers in this school."

"You're kidding!" I exclaimed, looking at the tattered piece of parchment.

"You think?" Fred asked, pulling out his wand and pointing it at the parchment. "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good." At once, thick lines of ink began appearing on the parchment from where Fred had touched his wand. Lines flowed to each corner of the parchment, and then words began to form.

"Messrs. Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs, Purveyors of Aids to Magical Mischief-Makers are proud to present The Marauder's Map," I read. I looked down and saw that the map showed every detail of the castle and its grounds. Not only did it show every detail, it showed every person as a tiny ink dot, labeled with their name. Dumbledore appeared to be pacing in his office while Mrs. Norris was prowling the third floor corridor and Peeves was doing something in the trophy room.

As I looked over the map, I saw a set of passages I had never entered. In fact, some of them led straight to…

"Right into Hogsmeade," Fred said, finishing my thought as he traced one of them with his wand. "There are seven in all. Now, Filch knows about these four," he said, pointing to each one, "But we're pretty sure we're the only ones who know about these. Don't try the one behind the mirror on the fourth floor—it's caved in. And we don't reckon anyone's ever used this one because the Whomping Willow is planted right over it. But this one here leads right into the cellar at Honeydukes. We've used it loads of times, and if you've noticed, the entrance is right outside this room through that one-eyed crone's hump."

"Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs," Emmett sighed. "We owe them so much."

"Noble men, working tirelessly to help a new generation of lawbreakers," George added.

"Right," Fred said. "Don't forget to wipe it after you've used it—"

"—or anyone can read it," Emmett warned.

"Just tap it again and say 'Mischief managed!' And it'll go black," George said, tapping the map with his wand. In an instant, the map's writings had disappeared, and it looked like a worn piece of parchment again.

"See you in Hogsmeade," the three of them chorused, winking at me as they left. I stood there, gazing at the most amazing thing I had ever seen. I reopened the map and looked over it. If Filch really didn't know about these passages, then I wouldn't have to pass the dementors…

As I stood there, shaking with excitement, Mr. Weasley's voice from the end of last year entered my brain. _Never trust anything that can think for itself if you can't see where it keeps its brain_. He had told Rosalie that after she had spent all year writing to Aro Voltri in his old diary.

This map was one of those dangerous magical objects Mr. Weasley had been talking about. But, I only wanted to use it to get into Hogsmeade. It wasn't like I wanted to use it to steal something or attack anyone. Besides, Fred, George, and Emmett had been using it for years, and they were completely fine, in a manner of speaking.

I traced the passage to Honeydukes with my finger, then reached for the handle of the door and walked out of the classroom. I checked the map, making sure no teachers were by the area, which none were. I approached the statue of the witch, but had no idea what to do.

I checked the map again, where I saw a small dot labeled _Alice Brandon_ standing exactly where I was. The dot appeared to be tapping the statue with a wand. I pulled mine out and did the same thing, but nothing happened. I checked the map again, where I saw a speech bubble by the dot with the word _"Dissendium_."

"_Dissendium_," I whispered, tapping the statue with my wand. At once, the witch's hump opened wide enough for me to crawl in. I looked around, making sure no one was watching, before putting the map back in my pocket and climbing inside the hole.

I slid down a stone slide before falling ungracefully onto the ground. I stood up, dusted myself off, and then started walking down a poorly lit passageway. I pulled out my wand and muttered, "_Lumos_," igniting the tip of my wand to allow me to see. As I was making my way down the passage, I pulled the map out and tapped it with my wand, saying "Mischief managed," to make sure the map was blank. Once all the writing had been wiped off it, I put it back in my pocket and continued towards Honeydukes.

After what seemed like an hour of walking, I came to a set of stone steps. Quietly, I began to climb them. I lost count after 200 steps, watching my feet the entire time. Eventually, I peered up and saw a trap door. Standing on my tiptoes, I reached up and pushed it open carefully, then jumped up to pull myself through it.

I emerged in a cellar, full of boxes, barrels, and crates. Once I was in, I replaced the trap door. It blended with the floor so perfectly that you would have to know it was there to spot it. I spotted a se of wooden stairs and was about to climb them when a burst of light came from the top and a voice echoed down.

"Get another box of Jelly Slugs, dear—they've nearly cleaned us out." The voice was followed by a pair of feet, thudding down the stairs. Quickly, I dodge out of sight behind a stack of boxes, hoping whoever was coming down hadn't seen or heard me. I heard the owner of the feet walk to the other side of the cellar. Quietly, I emerged from my spot and went up the stairs, emerging behind the counter inside Honeydukes. I ducked out of sight, and then crawled into a corner, where I straightened up.

I reached into my pocket for y Invisibility Cloak when I remembered it was still in my trunk back at Hogwarts. Anyways, it didn't matter. Honeydukes was so crowded that people didn't even give me a second glance. I edged around a group of sixth-year boys and looked around the shop.

There were shelves stacked high with any and every type of candy I could imagine. Chunks of nougat in 20 different flavors, pink squares of coconut ice shimmering under the shop lights, honey-colored toffees, rows and rows of all types of chocolate, a large barrel of Bertie Bott's Every Flavored Beans, another with Fizzing Whizbee's and another with Drooble's Best Blowing Gum. Toothflossing Stringmints, Pepper Imps, Ice Mice, toad-shaped peppermint creams, sugar quills, and bonbon's that exploded with flavor.

I saw a sign labeled "Unusual Tastes," and underneath it, I spotted Bella, Edward, and Rosalie looking at the candies on display there. I tiptoed quietly behind them, listening to what they were saying.

"Ugh, those are for vampires," Bella said, grabbing something out of Edward's hand and putting it on a tray labeled "Blood-Flavored Lollipops."

"How about these then," Edward said, showing her a jar of Cockroach Clusters.

"Definitely not," I said behind them. Edward almost dropped the jar in his hands.

"Alice!" Rosalie squealed, throwing her arms around my neck and accidentally grazing my skin.

"_Alice?" Rosalie called, walking into our dormitory. "Is everything okay?"_

"_No," I sobbed into my pillow. "Everything is far from okay."_

"_What happened?" she asked kindly, taking a seat on the edge of my bed._

"_We broke up."_

"_What? No! Why?"_

"_I just—I had to do it," I said, my voice breaking as I broke down into tears again. "It was the right thing to do."_

"_Alice, it obviously wasn't if you're sitting up here, crying your eyes out. Maybe if you just went into the common room and talked to—"_

"_No! I don't want to see him! I never want to see him again!"_

"_Alice, what happened"_

"Whoa, did you learn to apparate?" Edward asked, his eyes as wide as dinner plates.

"What?" I asked, unsure of what they were talking about with my head still clouded by my latest vision.

"How did you get here?" Bella asked, sounding annoyed. She had obviously already asked me.

I looked around to make sure no one was listening to us before dropping my voice and telling them all about the Marauder's Map.

"How come Emmett never gave it to me!" Edward exclaimed. "I _am_ his brother!"

"Yeah, Fred and George are my big brothers!" Rosalie added, looking slightly angry.

"But Alice isn't going to keep it!" Bella said, giving m a look. "You're going to turn it into Professor McGonagall, right?"

"No, I'm not," I said.

"Are you nuts?" Edward asked. "Hand in something this good?"

"If I hand it in, I'll have to explain where I got it from. Filch would know Fred, George, and Emmett had nicked it," I reasoned.

"But what about Sirius Black?" Bella asked with a worried voice.

"What bout him?"

"He could be using one of the secret passageways on that map to get into the school! You have to tell a teacher, Alice!"

"He can't be using one," I snapped. "There are seven secret passageways. Filch knows about four of them, so they'll have dementors on those. As for the other three, one of them is caved in, one is right under the Whomping Willow, and the last one is in the cellar of Honeydukes. First of all, it's impossible to see unless you know where it is, and I'd like to see him try to get in there when the entire Ministry of Magic is looking for him."

"And with dementors swarming all over the place," Rosalie added.

"What?" I asked. She pointed to a notice pinned on the window of the shop.

_By order of the Ministry of Magic, customers are reminded that until further notice, dementors will be patrolling the streets of Hogsmeade every night after dark. This measure has been put in place for the safety of Hogsmeade residents and will be lifted after the capture of Sirius Black .Merry Christmas!_

"I'd like to see Black try and break into Honeydukes," she said, smiling. "Besides, the owners would hear a break-in—they live right over the shop."

"Yes—but—Alice doesn't have a signed form! She's not supposed to be here. F anyone finds out, she'll be in so much trouble. Besides, it's not even nightfall, so the dementors aren't out yet. What if Black—"

"How is he supposed to spot her in this?" Edward asked, gesturing to the huge crowd of people in the shops and outside in the streets. "Come on, Bella. It's Christmas—Alice deserves a break.

"Ugh!" she groaned, throwing her hands in the air and walking out of the shop. We all smiled—that meant she had given up. The three of us ran to catch up with her.

Outside, it was snowing hard. The ground had already been covered in a thin layer of snow. I started shivering—unlike the rest of them, I didn't have my cloak, hat, or scarf with me.

"Let's go into the Three Broomsticks for a butterbeer," Edward said, his teeth chattering. "It'll warm you right up." We all nodded and followed him inside. We grabbed a table at the back of the pub. "Oh, there's Madam Rosmerta," he said, gesturing towards a curvy woman. "I'll go get the drinks." I saw his face turning red as he headed up towards the bar.

"Edward fancies her," Rosalie whispered to me, giggling. Edward reappeared a minute later with four steaming mugs of hot butterbeer.

"Merry Christmas!" he said, placing one in front of each of us. I picked mine up and took a generous sip. It was the most delicious thing I had ever tasted—it seemed to heat every inch of my body from the inside, warming me up instantly.

A breeze ruffled my hair as the door to the pub opened. I glanced behind me and almost choked—Professors McGonagall and Flitwick had walked in with Hagrid and the Minister of Magic himself, Cornelius Fudge. I felt two sets of hands on the top of my head as I was unceremoniously shoved onto the ground. I reached up to grab the chair and steady myself, but I took Edward's hand instead.

"_Alice, if you'd just talk to him—"_

"_No, I never want to speak to him again," I snapped at Edward as I sat in the library, trying to finish an essay due the next day for potions._

"_But he misses you!"_

"_Well, I don't miss him."_

"_I know that's a lie," he whispered, sitting down next to me._

"_And just exactly how would you know that?" I asked, giving him a look._

"_Bella told me she hears you crying every night when you think everyone else is asleep. She says she hears you saying his name over and over."_

"_I'll kill her," I muttered._

"_Just talk to him," he said again._

"_Why do you even care?" I asked. "It's not like you two are friends."_

"_No, but I can see how much you love him and how much it's hurting you. And I know he won't talk to you because he thinks you hate him. So you have to do all the work on this one."_

_I groaned as I rested my head on the table. What kind of mess had I gotten myself into?_

When I opened my eyes after the vision, I saw a Christmas tree was now in front of our table, blocking us from view. I peered through the branches and a pair of green heels walking up to four stools, which were now being occupied by the four people who had just walked in.

"A small gillywater—"

"Mine," came Professor McGonagall's voice.

"Four pints of mulled mead—"

"Ta, Rosmerta," Hagrid said.

"Cherry syrup and soda with ice and an umbrella—"

"Mmm!" Professor Flitwick called, smacking his lips.

"So, you'll be the red currant rum, Minister?" Madam Rosmerta asked.

"Thank you," Fudge said, patting her lightly on the arm as she handed him his drink. "Lovely to see you again. Take a seat, have a drink with us."

"Why, thank you!" she said, taking a seat on an empty stool next to him.

I watched them nervously. I had completely forgotten this was the end of term for the teachers too. How lon were they going to sit there? I needed time to sneak back down into the Honeydukes cellar and into the castle by tonight.

"So, what brings you into the area Minister?" Rosmerta asked.

"What else, m'dear? Sirius Black. I daresay you heard about what happened at the castle on Halloween?"

"I did hear a rumor," she admitted.

"Goodness, Hagrid, did you tell the whole pub?" Professor McGonagall asked.

"Do you think Black's still in the area?" Madam Rosmerta whispered.

"I'm sure of it," Fudge said confidently.

"You know the dementors have searched the village twice. It's bad for business—they've scared off all my customers."

"I don't like them anymore than you do," Fudge said uncomfortably, shifting in his seat, "But they're a necessary precaution. I've just met some of them. They're in a fury against Dumbledore…he won't let them in the castle grounds."

"I should think not!" Professor McGonagall snapped. "How are we supposed to teach with those horrid things floating into our classrooms?"

"Hear, hear!" Professor Flitwick squeaked.

"All the same, they are here to protect you from something much worse. After all, we know what Black is capable of…"

"I still have trouble believing it," Madam Rosmerta said sadly. "Of all the people to go over to the Dark Side, Sirius Black was the last person I would pick. I mean, I remember him when he was a boy at Hogwarts. If you told me then what he would become, I would say you'd had too much mead."

"You don't know the half of it," Fudge groaned. "The worst he did isn't widely known."

"The worst?" she asked. "Worse than murdering all those poor people, you mean?"

"I do," he said gravely.

"I don't believe you—what could possibly be worse?"

"You say you remember him at Hogwarts?" Professor McGonagall asked. Madam Rosmerta nodded. "Do you remember who his best friend was?"

"Of course," she laughed. "Never saw one without the other, did you? The number of times I saw them in here—ooh, they used to make me laugh. Quite the double act, Sirius Black and Jason Brandon."

I gasped loudly. Rosalie kicked me underneath the table to get me to shut up.

"Exactly. Black and Brandon—ringleaders of their little gang," McGonagall said. "Both exceptionally bright—I don't think Hogwarts has ever had such a pair of troublemakers—"

"I dunno," Hagrid laughed. "Fred and George Weasley could give them a run for their money."

"You'd have thought those two were brothers," Professor Flitwick chimed in. "They were inseparable."

"Of course they were," Fudge said. "Brandon trusted Black beyond all others. Nothing changed once they left school—Black was best man when Jason married Cynthia. They named him godfather to Alice. Alice has no idea, of course. You can imagine how that idea would torment her."

"Because Black turned out to be in league with You-Know-Who?" Madam Rosmerta whispered.

"Worse," Fudge said, lowering his voice. "Not many people are aware that the Brandon's knew You-Know-Who was after them. Dumbledore was working tirelessly against him had a number of spies. One of them tipped him off, and he alerted Jason and Cynthia at once. He told them to go into hiding. Well, obviously You-Know-Who was not an easy person to hide from, so Dumbledore told them their best chance of survival was the Fidelius Charm."

"How does that work?" Madam Rosmerta breathed.

Professor Flitwick cleared his throat. "An extremely complex spell," he squeaked. "It involves the magical concealment of a secret inside a single, living soul. The information is hidden inside the chosen person, or Secret-Keeper, and is then impossible to find—unless the Secret-Keeper chooses to divulge that information. As long as the Secret-Keeper refused to speak, You-Know-Who could search the same village where Jason and Cynthia were hiding for years and never find them, even if he had his nose pressed right against their window."

"So, Black was the Brandon's Secret-Keeper?" Madam Rosmerta asked.

"Naturally, McGonagall said darkly. "Jason Brandon told Dumbledore that Black would rather die than betray his friend, that Black was planning on going into hiding himself…and yet, Dumbledore remained worried. I remember him offering to be the Brandon's Secret-Keeper himself."

"He suspected Black?" Madam Rosmerta gasped.

McGonagall shook her head. "He was sure somebody close to the Brandon's had turned traitor and was informing You-Know-Who of their movements," she explained. "He didn't know who it was, however."

"But Jason insisted on using Black?"

"He did," Fudge said. "And then, barely a week after the Fidelius Charm had been cast—"

"Black betrayed them," Madam Rosmerta said sadly.

"He did indeed. Black was tired of his double-agent role. He was ready to declare his support openly for You-Know-Who, and it seems he had planned this moment for the Brandon's death. But, as we all know, You-Know-Who met his demise in Alice Brandon. Powers wiped, horribly weakened, he fled. This left Black in a nasty position. His master had fallen at the very moment he had shown his true colors as a traitor. He had no choice but to run."

"Filthy, stinkin', turncoat!" Hagrid growled. "I met him! I musta bin the last ter see him before he killed all them people! It was me what rescued Alice from Jason an' Cynthia's house after they was killed! Jus' got her outta there, poor thing, with a slash on her forehead where the curse had backfired, her parents dead. Sirius Black turns up in that flying motorbike he used ter rid. Never occurred to me what he was doin' there. I didn' know he'd been Jason and Cynthia's Secret-Keeper. Thought he'd just heard the news o' You-Know-Who's attack and' he'd come ter see what he could do. White as a sheet and shakin', he was. An' you know what I did? I COMFORTED THE MUDERIN' TRAITOR!" he roared.

"Hagrid, keep your voice down," Professor McGonagall hissed.

"How was I ter know he wasn't upset about Jason and Cynthia? It was You-Know-Who he cared about! An' then he says, 'Give Alice to me, Hagrid. I'm her Godfather. I'll look after her'—ha! But I'd had me instructions from Dumbledore, an' I told Black no, Dumbledore said she had ter go live with her aunt an' uncle. Black tried arguing bbut gave in, telling me ter take his motorbike since he wouldn't need it no more. I shoulda known here was something fishy—he loved that motorbike more than anything. Why wouldn't he need it no more? Fact was it would be too easy to spot once Dumbledore told the Ministry he had been the Secret-Keeper."

There was a long silence after Hagrid's story. I was sitting on the ground, shaking. Was that really how my parent's had died—betrayed by their best friend? What if Hagrid _had_ given me to Black that night? Would he had pitched me into the nearest river, or handed me over to You-Know-Who's supporters to be murdered?

Madam Rosmerta was speaking again. "But he didn't manage to disappear, did he? The Ministry caught up with him the next day?"

Fudge sighed. "If only we had. It was not us who found him, but little Peter Pettigrew—another of the Brandon's close friends. Maddened by grief and knowing that Black had been the Brandon's Secret-Keeper, he went after Black himself."

"Pettigrew…that fat boy who was always tagging after Jason and Sirius around Hogwarts?" Rosmerta asked.

"Hero-worshiped them," McGonagall said. "Never quite in their league talent-wise. I was often sharp with him. You can imagine how I—how I regret that now."

"There, there, Minerva. Pettigrew died a hero's death. Eyewitnesses—Muggles, who later had their memories wiped—told us how Pettigrew confronted Black, shouting at him. 'Jason and Cynthia, Sirius! How could you!' He went for his wand, but Black, of course, was quicker. Blew Pettigrew to smithereens."

Professor McGonagall blew her nose in her handkerchief. "Foolish boy…he was always hopeless at dueling. He should have left it for the Ministry to handle."

"I tell yeh, if I'd have gotten ter Black first, I wouldn't have messed around with wands—I would have torn him limb—from—limb!"

"You don't know what you're talking about, Hagrid," Fudge said. "NO body but trained Hit Wizards from the Magical Law Enforcement Squad would have stood a chance against Black. I was a Junior Minister in the Department of Magical Catastrophes, so I was one of the first on the scene. I—I will never forget it as long as I live. A crater in the middle of the street. Bodies everywhere Muggles screaming. And Black standing there laughing, with what was left of Pettigrew in front of him…a heap of bloodstained robes and a finger."

Fudge stopped to blow his nose, followed by four other noses being blown. I stayed on the ground, still shaking.

"Well, that's what happened. Black was taken away by twenty members of the Magical Law Enforcement Squad and Pettigrew received the Order of Merlin, First Class. Black's been in Azkaban ever since."

"Is it true he's mad?"

"I wish I could say he was. I certainly believe his master's defeat unhinged him for a while. The murder of Pettigrew and all those Muggles was the act of a desperate man. Yet I visited him on my last inspection of the prison. Most people sit there in their cells, muttering to themselves in the dark, no sense left in them. But Black—he seemed _normal_. He spoke rationally to me—asked if I'd finished with the paper, said he missed doing the crossword. I was astounded with how little effect the dementors seemed to have on him—and he was one of the most heavily guarded!"

"What do you think he's broken out to do?" Madam Rosmerta whispered. "He's not trying to rejoin You-Know-Who, is he?"

"I believe that is his eventual plan, but we hope to catch him before then. You-Know-Who alone is one thing, but give him back his most-loyal servant…"

"You know, Cornelius, if you're dining with the Headmaster, we had better head back up to the castle," Professor McGonagall said, setting her glass on the counter. One by one, each of the four people had risen from their stools and walked out the door. Madam Rosmerta went back to her business.

I stayed sitting on the ground. Three faces appeared beneath the table. Bella, Edward, and Rosalie looked at me, lost for words after what we had just heard.

**Ah, sorry I didn't have this posted when I said I would. My computer broke and is currently being repaired, so I couldn't write. I'm using a replacement, but I started school again this week, so I didn't have much time to write. I will attempt to put one up next Sunday, but I can't make any promises!**


	29. A Mysterious Gift

Chapter 27: A Mysterious Gift

I don't know how I did it, but I managed to make my way back to the Honeydukes cellar, down the tunnel, and into the castle without being seen. The return trip seemed to take no time at all—perhaps it was because my mind was somewhere else.

Why had nobody ever told me? Dumbledore, Hagrid, Mr. Weasley, the Minister…they all knew! Why couldn't they take one minute and say, "Oh, by the way, Alice, you're parents died because their best friend betrayed them." That would have been better then finding out while crouched underneath a table at the Three Broomsticks.

At dinner, Bella, Edward, and Rosalie watched me like a time bomb that was about to explode. None of them dared to mention the conversation we overheard back in Hogsmeade—they just watched me.

Back in the common room, Fred, George, and Emmett had set off a bunch of Dungbombs to celebrate the end of term. I ran up to my dorm quickly so they wouldn't have a chance to ask me if I'd gotten to Hogsmeade or not. Unfortunately, I ran into Harry on the way.

"Hey," he said, wrapping his arm around my shoulders. "Where have you been? I haven't seen you since I got back from Hogsmeade."

"I can't talk now, Harry," I muttered, trying to unwind his arms from me.

"Alice—"

"Let go of me!" I said, pushing his arm off me. I ran up to the dorm and knelt by my bedside cabinet, searching through it until I found what I was looking for—the photo album Hagrid had given me while I was in the hospital wing my first year after defeating Voldemort. It was full of wizard photos he had collected from my parent's friends.

I sat on my bed and flipped through the book, staring at my parent's smiling faces until I found it. Their wedding photo. My dad was waving at me, his arm wrapped around my mom, who was beaming at him. Her short, black hair, exactly the same as mine, was curled at the edges and hidden underneath a veil. And next to them…that must be him…the best man.

If I hadn't known it was Sirius Black, I never would have guessed it was him. His face wasn't sunken and dark, but handsome and full of laughter. Had he already been working for Voldemort when this was taken? Was he already planning the deaths of the two people standing next to him, so full of love? Did he realize he was going to spend the next 12 years in Azkaban, 12 years that would make him completely unrecognizable?

But the dementors don't affect him. He doesn't have to hear my mum screaming every time they get close to him…

I slammed the book shut and shoved it back in the cabinet. I couldn't look at them anymore. Thanks to Sirius Black, they were gone, and they were never coming back.

"Alice?" Rosalie asked, opening the door to the dormitory and walking inside. I quickly lay down and pretended to be asleep. She left a moment later, and I looked up at the ceiling, my eyes wide open.

I had never actually hated anyone before, but I could feel hatred for Sirius Black coursing through my veins. I saw him in my mind, laughing at me, as he blasted Peter Pettigrew to shreds. He turned to someone I couldn't see and said in a low, raspy voice, "It has been done, my Lord…the Brandon's have made me their Secret-Keeper." A cold, high-pitched laugh joined him, the laugh I heard when the dementors got near me…

***

"Alice, you look terrible," Rosalie said to me as I walked down the stairs into the Gryffindor common room. I hadn't gotten much sleep last night, but neither would most people if they kept seeing the man who betrayed their parents in their head all night.

When I eventually woke up, the dormitory was deserted, so I threw on a pair of jeans and a tee shirt, brushed my hair quickly, and made my way down to the common room, which was empty except for Rosalie, who was eating some fudge from Honeydukes, and Bella, who was working on homework with her books piled high on three separate tables.

"Where is everyone?" I asked.

"Gone," Rosalie said cheerfully. "It's the first day of holidays. It's nearly lunchtime—I was about to come and wake you up."

I sat in my favorite chair by the fireplace and looked out the window. Snow was falling gracefully while Crookshanks was spread out on the rug in front of the fire.

"Everyone else is gone?" I asked.

"Well, Fred, George, Jasper, and Percy are still here, but they're all off doing their own thing somewhere else.

"Alice, you really don't look well," Bella said, sounding concerned.

"I'm fine," I snapped at her.

"Alice, you must be really upset about what you heard yesterday, but you mustn't go and do anything stupid," she said, exchanging a look with Rosalie.

"Like what?" I asked.

"Like trying to go after Black," Rosalie sighed. "You won't, will you? Because Black isn't worth dying or."

They didn't understand. They didn't get it. "Do you know what I hear every time the dementors get close to me?" They both shook their heads. "I hear Voldemort murdering my parents. I hear my mum screaming, pleading with him to spare me. If you heard your mum screaming, you wouldn't forget that anytime soon. And if you found out that—the reason she was screaming, the reason she was dead—was because someone who was supposed to be a friend of hers betrayed her and told Voldemort exactly where he would find her—"

"There's nothing you can do!" Bella interjected. "The dementors will catch Black and send him back to Azkaban—exactly where he belongs."

"You don't get it!" I shouted. "Black isn't affected by Azkaban like other people! It'd not punishment for him like it is for the others!"

"So, you're saying you want to kill Black?" Rosalie asked, looking very tense.

"Don't be ridiculous," Bella scoffed. "Alice doesn't want to kill anybody—do you?" she asked, turning her eyes to me."

I didn't say anything. I didn't know what I wanted to do. "Malfoy knows," I said suddenly. The two of them looked at me. "Remember what he said to me in the beginning of the year? 'If it was me, I'd hunt him down…I'd want revenge.'"

"You're going to take Malfoy's advice instead of ours?" Rosalie asked angrily, sounding slightly hurt. "D'you know what Pettigrew's mom got back after Black killed him? Dad told me-Order of Merlin, First Class, and Pettigrew's finger in a box. That was the only thing of him they could find. Black's a maniac, Alice. He's dangerous—"

"Malfoy's dad told him," I said, ignoring Rose. "He was right in Voldemort's inner circle—"

"_Would you say You-Know-Who?_" Rosalie hissed.

"—so obviously, the Malfoy's knew Black was working for Voldemort—"

"—and Malfoy told you because he has your best interests in his mind," Bella said sarcastically. "He'd love to see you get blown into a million pieces like Pettigrew because you're stupid enough to go after Black alone. Alice, _please_ be sensible. Black did a terrible thing, but don't put yourself in danger—it's what he wants. You'll be playing right into his hands if you go looking for him. Your mum and dad wouldn't want you to get hurt. They wouldn't want you to go looking for him!"

"I'll never know what they wanted for me, because thanks to Black, I've never spoken to them, and never will!"

Bella and Rosalie looked at one another, obviously unsure o what to say. "Look," Rosalie said. "It's the holidays! Let's—let's go down and visit Hagrid."

"No!" Bella said, glaring at Rosalie. "Alice isn't supposed to leave the castle."

"Yeah, let's go," I said, rising out of the chair. "I can ask him how come he never told me about Black when he told me about my parents."

"Or we could play a game of chess," Rosalie suggested, looking around the room awkwardly.

"No, let's go down and visit Hagrid," I decided.

The three of us grabbed our cloaks and headed through the portrait hole, walked through the empty castle, then headed out the front doors and down to Hagrid's hut. The Forbidden Forest, covered with snow, looked enchanted, each tree dusted with powdery flakes.

I knocked on Hagrid's door, but there was no answer.

"Is he out?" Bella asked, her teeth chattering.

Rosalie stuck her ear against the door. "There's a weird noise," she said. "Is that Fang?" Bella and I both placed our ears against the door, too, and we heard a series of low moans.

"Hagrid!" I called, banging on the door. "Hagrid, it's us! Open up!"

There were thumping, heavy footsteps before the door was wrenched open. Hagrid stood in front of us, his eyes red and swollen, tears dripping down his face. "Yeh've heard?" he sobbed before throwing his arms around my neck. This was quite a feat, seeing as Hagrid was at least three times my size I staggered under his weight as Bella and Rosalie each took one of his arms and led him into his house.

The had Hagrid sit in a chair at the table. He slumped onto the table, sobbing uncontrollably. Bella patted his arm gently while Rosalie went into the kitchen to make tea.

"Hagrid, what's wrong?" Bella asked kindly. Hagrid reached into his pocket and shoved a letter at her. Bella read it aloud so both Rosalie and I could hear it:

_Dear Mr. Hagrid,  
Further to our inquiry into the attack by a hippogriff on a student in your class, we have accepted the assurances of Professor Dumbledore that you bear no responsibility for the regrettable incident._

"Well, that's okay, Hagrid," Rosalie called while I breathed a sigh of relief. Thank goodness Hagrid wasn't being fired.

"Keep reading," he moaned.

_However, we must register our concern about the hippogriff in question. We have decided to uphold the official complaint of Mr. Lucius Malfoy, and this matter will therefore be taken to the Committee for the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures. The hearing will take place on April 20__th__, and we ask you to present yourself and your hippogriff at the Committee's offices in London on that date. In the meantime, the hippogriff should be kept tethered and isolated.  
Yours in fellowship…_

She trailed off, looking at me.

"But, Buckbeak's not a bad hippogriff," Bella said. "I'm sure he'll get off…"

"Yeh don't know them gargoyles at the Committee fer the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures!" Hagrid choked out. "They've got it in fer interestin' creatures."

Rosalie came over and set a cup of tea in front of Hagrid. Bella gave her a look. "What? My mom always does it when people are upset."

"You'll have to put up a strong defense," Bella said, taking a seat next to Hagrid. "I'm sure you can prove Buckbeak is safe."

"Won't make no difference," Hagrid blubbered. "Them Disposal devils, they're all in Lucius Malfoy's back pocket. Scared of him. An' if I lose this case, Buckbeak—"

Hagrid drew his finger across his throat swiftly.

"What about Dumbledore?" I asked. "Can't he help?"

"He's done enough already," Hagrid groaned. "I don't wanna burden him with this anymore. Besides, he's got enough on his plate what with them dementors floatin' around an' Sirius Black on the loose."

Rosalie and Bella looked at me, obviously waiting for me to start shouted at Hagrid, demanding to know why he didn't tell me the truth about Black earlier, but I couldn't bring myself to do it while Hagrid was in this state.

"Listen, Hagrid," I said, "You can't give up. Bella's right, you just need a good defense. You can call us as witnesses—"

"I'm sure I've read about a case of hippogriff-baiting," Bella said, thinking aloud, "Where the hippogriff got off. I'll look it up for you and see exactly what happened."

Hagrid howled loudly, burying his face in his hands. Bella put her hand on his arm while I patted his back. "Hagrid, you have to calm down," I soothed.

Hagrid pulled out his handkerchief and blew his nose loudly. "Yer right. I can' afford to go ter pieces. Gotta pull meself together." Fang walked over and laid down on the floor next to Hagrid. "I've not bin meself lately. Worried about Buckbeak an' no one liking me classes—"

"That's not true, Hagrid!" Bella said instantly. "We love your classes!"

"Er, yeah," Rosalie added. "How are the Flobberworms?"

"Dead. Too much lettuce."

"What a shame," Rosalie said, not bothering to hide the smile on her face.

"An' them dementors make me feel all terrible inside. Gotta go past them every time I want a drink at the Three Broomsticks. Makes me feel like I'm back in Azkaban—"

He feel silent, taking a large gulp of tea. The three of us watched him silently. Hagrid had never talked about the time he had spent in Azkaban before. "Is it awful there?" Bella whispered.

"Yeh have no idea. Never bin anywhere like it. Thought I was going ter go mad. Kep' goin' over the bad days in me life…the day I got expelled…day me dad died…day I had ter let Norbert go. Yeh can' really remember who yeh are after a while. An' yeh can' see the point o' living anymore. When they let me out, it was like bein' born again. It was the best feelin' in the world. Mind, the dementors weren't keen on lettin' me go."

"But you were innocent!" I protested.

"Think that matters to them? They don't care. Long as they got a couple o' souls to feed off, they don't care who's guilty and who's innocent." He stayed quiet, thinking about something. "Thought o' letting Buckbeak go, but I'm scared o' breaking the law again. I don't want ter go back to Azkaban."

We left shortly after that. Though the visit had been the furthest thing from fun, Bella and Rosalie were happy because my hatred towards Sirius Black had disappeared completely. Instead, the three of us went straight to the library and started researching for Hagrid immediately.

"Here's something…there was a case in 1722…but the hippogriff was convicted—ugh, look what they did to it! That's disgusting—"

"Maybe this will help—a manticore savaged someone in 1296 and they let it off…oh, that was only because everyone was too afraid to go near it…"

Everywhere else around the castle, people were preparing for Christmas. The decorations had been put up, even though there weren't many students remaining. There were thick streamers of holly and mistletoe strung along the corridors, lights shining from inside every suit of armor, and the Great Hall had its usual twelve Christmas trees, each one decorated magnificently.

Christmas morning, I was woken up by Rosalie jumping on my bed. "It's Christmas!" she shouted, causing me to wake up abruptly. "It's Christmas, Alice! Wake up!"

I opened my eyes and saw her climbing off my bed and heading over to the pile of presents at the foot of hers. Bella was already up, unwrapping her presents carefully. Rosalie dug right into hers, ripping the paper off. "Another sweater from Mum," she groaned. "Pink again. See if you got one."

I saw the lumpy package and opened it. She had sent me one. It was a gold sweater with the Gryffindor lion in scarlet knitted on the front. She had also sent a bunch of mince pies, a Christmas cake, and a bag of nut brittle. I pulled the sweater over my head and moved everything else to the side, exposing a long, thin package.

"What's that?" Rosalie asked in the middle of opening a pair of socks.

"Dunno," I said, reaching for it. I ripped the paper off the mysterious present with Bella and Rosalie both looking on. I gasped as I held the long, shiny broomstick in my hands. "I don't believe it," I whispered, looking down at the Firebolt. Here it was—my dream broom. The handle glittered an I could feel it vibrating as I held it in my hand.

"Who sent you it?" Rosalie gasped.

"I don't know," I said. "Check and see if there's a card."

"Nothing," Rosalie said after going through all the paper. "Who'd spend that much on you?"

"Well, I'm guessing it wasn't the Dursleys," I laughed, not taking my eyes off the broom.

"Don't you think this is a little suspicious?" Bella asked from behind me. I turned to look at her and saw she had a disproving look on her face.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Well, this is quite a good broom, right?"

"It's the best there is," Rosalie sighed exasperatedly.

"So, it must have cost a lot of money."

"Probably more than all the Slytherin's brooms put together," Rosalie muttered.

"Well…who would send Alice this without even saying who they were?"

"Who cares?" Rosalie sighed. "Listen, can I ride it, Alice?"

"I don't think anyone should ride that broom just yet!" she exclaimed. We both looked at her. I was about to say something when Crookshanks leaped off Bella's bed and sprang right at Rosalie's pocket where Scabbers was hiding.

"GET—HIM—OUT—OF—HERE!" Rosalie screeched as Crookshanks' claws ripped the pocket of her pajamas and Scabbers made a run for it. Rosalie managed to grab him before aiming a kick at the cat, which missed and hit my trunk instead. The lip opened and the Sneakoscope became dislodged, whistling loudly.

"I forgot about that," I said, quickly picking up the shrieking top and stuffing it back in the socks, shoving them to the bottom of the trunk and slamming the lid shut.

"You better take that monster out of here," Rosalie snarled at Bella, holding Scabbers in her hand. Bella lifted Crookshanks into her arms and left the room while the cat kept its eyes on Scabbers. Rosalie placed Scabbers on the bed. He was shaking and was extremely skinny. He was also missing patches of fur.

"He's not looking too good," I commented.

"It's stress! He's terrified of that mad cat. He'd be perfectly fine if that big furball left him alone!" I didn't say anything, but I knew that, unless Scabbers had powers he hadn't revealed yet, he was coming to the end of his life. And I also knew that, despite Rosalie constantly complaining about him, she'd be devastated if he died.

Christmas spirit was low. Bella kept Crookshanks shut in our dormitory while Scabbers hid out in Rosalie's pocket, but she was pissed at Rose for trying to kick the cat. Rosalie was bitter about Crookshanks' frsh attempt to eat Scabbers, so she wasn't talking to Bella. I gave up trying to get them to be civil, so I brought the Firebolt down to look it, but that seemed to annoy Bella more.

We went down to the Great Hall at lunch. Instead of the normal house tables, there was one large table in the center. Professors Dumbledore, McGonagall, Snape, and Flitwick were there, along with Filch. Fred, George, Jasper, and Percy were all sitting at the table already. They were the only students there. I took a seat next to Jasper, with Rosalie next to me and Bella next to her.

Jasper smiled at me. "Merry Christmas, Alice."

I couldn't help but turn slightly red. "Merry Christmas, Jasper."

"Dig in," Dumbledore said, gesturing towards the food. I piled some roast beef and potatoes on my plate and chatted with Jasper about Quidditch. Fred and George joined in, strategizing about what we needed to do to win the cup with year.

"It all comes down to numbers," I reminded them. "I mean, we can't lose again. We just have to hope Hufflepuff gets murdered by Ravenclaw."

"But Black's an excellent seeker…"

"Ravenclaw's got Chang. She's fantastic. Plus she's cute," Fred added. "Black won't be able to concentrate on the Snitch with her flying around. Plus, Davies put together a great team. Their chasers are phenomenal."

"I guess," Jasper admitted. I shook my head at them.

"Guys, relax," I said, putting a hand on Jasper's wrist.

"_Alice? Alice, honey?" someone said to me. I was lying on the couch in the Gryffindor common room, my eyes closed. I was exhausted. Snape's occlumency lessons, plus my regular classes, were wearing me out. I opened my eyes a little and saw Jasper looking down at me._

"_Leave me alone," I sighed, turning my back to him. I was in no mood to deal with Jasper and his pitiful attempts to get back together._

"_Alice," he said, placing his hand on my waist._

"_Stop!" I said, sitting up and pushing him off me. "I said leave me alone. I said never talk to me again. I said you're a jerk and I hate you. So, why are you sitting here, acting like you still love me?"_

"_Because I do still love you," he whispered. "Besides, you don't know what you saw that day."_

"_I know exactly what I saw," I said angrily, glaring at him. "I get it—I'm too young. I'm not pretty enough. You want someone who's more mature than me."_

"_Wrong, wrong, and wrong," he said, placing his hand behind my neck, pulling my face close to his and placing his lips on mine._

"Hello? Alice?" Fred was calling looking at me. I started at him, blinking my eyes. "Dude, what happened?" he asked, looking at me with concern.

"nothing," I said, trying to play it off. "Just zoned out for a bit."

"But—"

"I said I'm fine, Fred," I snapped. "I'm full," I said, turning to Rosalie and Bella. "You guys ready to head back to the common room?" Rosalie nodded and the two of us got up from the table. "Bella, you coming?" I asked.

"Uh, I'll be a minute. I need to talk to Professor McGonagall," she said nervously. I shrugged my shoulders, and Rosalie and I left the Great Hall. We headed back to Gryffindor Tower, where we encountered a very drunk Sir Cadogan. We gave him the portrait, and resumed our previous positions. I sat by the fire, gazing over the Firebolt while Rosalie sat next to me, gazing over the Firebolt.

Ten minutes later, the portrait opened, and Bella walked in, followed by Professor McGonagall. "So it's true?" she asked, looking at the broom in my hands.

"Yeah," I said, grinning.

"Well, I'm sorry, Miss Brandon, but I must take the broom," she said, taking it from my hands.

"What? Why?" I asked.

"It needs to be checked for jinxes. I'm sure Professor Flitwick and Madam Hooch will want to strip it down…"

"Strip it down?" I gasped.

"It should only take a few weeks. You will get it back if we can determine it is jinx-free." She turned and left the common room, the broom in her position.

"_What did you go running to McGonagall for_?" Rosalie shouted at Bella.

Bella stared at her, pink in the face. "Because I thought—and Professor McGonagall agreed with me—that the broom was sent to Alice by Sirius Black!"

**Ack! Sorry it took so long and it's not a super long chapter. I promise the next one will be long, whenever I get it written. Bear with me, please! I haven't had a moment to write!**


	30. Gryffindor vs Ravenclaw

Chapter 28: Gryffindor vs. Ravenclaw

**AN: Thank you for all your reviews! **

I couldn't believe her. How could she do that to me? I knew she meant well, but still! It was a _brand new Firebolt_, and she'd gone and blabbed to McGonagall. I hadn't even had a chance to ride it. I didn't even know if I would ever see it again, or if I did, what state it would be in once it had been checked for curses and jinxes.

Rosalie was furious. As far as she was concerned, the stripping-down of a Firebolt was enough to earn you a life sentence in Azkaban. She refused to speak to Bella, and I joined her. Bella, who felt like she had acted right, took refuge in the library, avoiding us.

All in all, I was happy when everyone returned from the holidays. Gryffindor tower became noisy again, and it was easier to avoid Bella with all the other people around.

Rosalie and I told Edward what had happened. His face went from excited, to confused, to shocked, to angered. "How could she do that?" he said furiously the night before the term started. "I mean, it's a _brand new Firebolt!_ What if you never get it back? And how the hell is Sirius Black supposed to buy a broom when the entire country is looking for him?"

"Don't ask me," I sighed miserably.

"Alice, can I have a quick word?" Wood said, coming up to the three of us sitting by the fire.

"Sure," I said, getting up. Wood walked me over to a corner in the common room, lowering his voice so everyone couldn't hear us.

"I've been doing some thinking over Christmas. After the last match, you know. If the dementors come to the next one, well…"

"I'm working on it," I said. "Professor Lupin's going to teach me how to fight them off. We should be starting this week."

"Ah," Wood said, looking much happier. "Well, I'm glad. I really didn't want to lose you as a Seeker, Alice. And have you ordered a new broom?"

"No."

"What? You have to do that now! You can't ride that Shooting Star against Ravenclaw—Chang will be doing laps around you!"

"I got a Firebolt for Christmas," I said.

"A _Firebolt?_ No, seriously, a _real Firebolt_?"

"Calm down," I sighed miserably. "I don't have it anymore." I told him about what happened with Bella and Professor McGonagall.

"Jinxes?" Wood asked, looking stunned. "How could it be jinxed?"

"Sirius Black is supposedly after me, and McGonagall reckons he might have sent it. You know, try to get me killed during a match."

Wood waved his hand, obviously unconcerned about the fact that a famous mass murderer was after his Seeker. "But that's ridiculous! Black is on the run with the entire magical community looking for him! How could he just waltz right into Quality Quidditch Supplies and purchase a brand new broom?"

"I know, Oliver," I sighed. "But McGonagall wants to strip it down."

Wood's face went pale. "I'll go talk to her, Alice," he said at once. "I'll make her see reason. I mean, a Firebolt. A _real_ Firebolt on our team. She wants Gryffindor to win as much as we all do. I'll make her see reason…" He strolled off, still muttering about McGonagall.

I looked after him, a little worried. Wood could be kind of a…fanatic when it came to Quidditch. Hopefully he didn't do anything too stupid in an attempt to get my Firebolt back. I walked back over to Edward and Rosalie, where Harry was standing with them.

"Alice!" he said, rushing over to me and pulling me into a hug. "I've been looking for you everywhere. Where were you?"

"Talking to Wood," I said once he released me. "You know—Quidditch stuff. But, how was your break?"

"Good. Mum, Dad, and I went skiing in Germany while Marie, my little sister, stayed with my grandparents. She's only five, after all." He shrugged his shoulders. "Did you have a good time here?"

"I guess," I said. "Rosalie and I mainly hung out with Jasper and her brothers. We had a pretty big snowball fight on Wednesday. She and I definitely won," I said, shooting a smile in Rosalie's direction. She grinned back at me. "We pretty much just sat around here and hung out with each other all week," I said, not mentioning the fact that we weren't speaking to Bella at the moment.

I glanced over my shoulder and saw her sitting in the corner, hunched over a piece of parchment scribbling furiously with a book propped open next to her. I turned back to Harry as he talked about his vacation, smiling and laughing, pretending Bella wasn't over in the corner by herself.

Classes started the next day. Care of Magical Creatures and Divination breezed by—I wasn't really paying attention. I just wanted to get to Defense Against the Dark Arts so I could talk to Professor Lupin. I wanted to learn to fight off the dementors after talking with Wood last night.

I went up to Professor Lupin after class and asked him.

"Ah, yes," he said. "How about eight o'clock on Thursday evening? The History of Magic classroom should be large enough. I'll have to think about this…we can't bring a real dementor in to practice on…" He trailed off, thinking to himself.

"Still looks ill, doesn't he?" Rosalie said to Edward and I as we walked out of the room and into the corridor. "What do you reckon's the matter with him?"

There was an exasperate sigh behind us. We turned around and saw Bella standing there.

"What are you sighing for?" Rosalie asked, turning and glaring at her.

"Nothing," she sniffed, heaving her overstuffed bag onto her shoulder.

"Yes, you were," Edward said. "Rose said she wondered what was wrong with Lupin and—"

"Well, isn't it _obvious_?" she said, looking at us like we were stupid.

"If you don't want to tell us, don't!" Rosalie snapped at her.

"Fine!" Bella said, storming off angrily.

"She doesn't know," Rosalie said once Bella was out of earshot. "She just wants us to talk to her again."

"If you say so," I said, watching Bella march away from the three of us.

Thursday evening at eight, I entered the History of Magic classroom. It was empty when I got there, so I lit the lamps with my wand while I waited for Professor Lupin. He got there a few minutes later, carrying a large suitcase which he placed on Professor Binns' desk.

"What's that?" I asked.

"A boggart," he said simply. "I've been searching the castle for one all week, and I finally found this one lurking inside Mr. Filch's filing cabinet. It's the closest we'll get to a real dementor. He'll turn into a dementor when he sees you, so you can use him to practice. I can store him in a cupboard under my desk when we're not using him—he'll like it there. So," he said, taking out his wand. I followed suit, staring at him. "The spell I'm going to try and teach you is highly advanced magic, well beyond Ordinary Wizarding Levels. It's called the Patronus charm."

"How does it work?" I asked, slightly nervous.

"When it works correctly, it conjures up a Patronus, which is a type of anti-dementor. It's like a guardian that acts as a shield between you and the dementor."

I smiled as I imagined myself hiding behind a Hagrid-sized creature holding a large club, beating off the dementors.

Professor Lupin continued. "A Patronus is a kind of positive force, a projection of the very things a dementor feeds on—happiness, hope, desire to survive—but it can't feel despair like normal humans can, so a dementor can't harm it. I want to warn you, Alice, that this charm might be too advanced for you. Many qualified wizards have problems with it."

"What does a Patronus look like?" I asked, curious.

"Each one is unique to the witch or wizard who conjures it."

"How _do_ you conjure it?"

"With an incantation which will only work if you are concentrating, with all your might, on a single happy memory."

I searched my mind, trying to think of a happy memory. Certainly nothing that happened at the Prunley's would work. I eventually decided on the first time I rode a broom. "Right," I said, trying to remember exactly how I felt at that moment.

"Now, the incantation is _expecto patronum_."

"_Expecto patronum_," I said.

"Concentrating on you happy memory?"

"What? Oh, yeah," I said, thinking back to riding the broom. "Expecto patrono—no, patronum. Expecto patronum, expecto patronum, expecto patronum…" Something whooshed out of the end of my wand. It looked like a silver wisp of gas. "Did you see that?" I asked excitedly. "Something happened!"

"Very good," Lupin said with a smile. "Ready to try with the dementor?"

I nodded once, gripping my wand tightly. I tried to keep my mind on my memory, but the knowledge that any second now I was going to hear my mum being murdered kept distracting me. I knew I shouldn't think that or I definitely would hear here again, and I didn't want to hear that. Or did I?

Lupin pulled open the suitcase, and the dementor rose slowly, floating towards me. The lights in the room flickered before going out completely. It took in a rattling breath, and I went cold.

"Expecto patronum!" I yelled. "Expecto patronum! Expecto…expecto…" I tried to keep my mind focused, but the room was dissolving around me and I felt myself falling, Mum's voice louder than it had ever been.

"_Not Alice! Please, not Alice! I'll do anything!"_

"_Stand aside you silly girl!"_

"Alice!" My eyes flew open, and I was lying on the floor, staring up at Professor Lupin. The lights were on again, and I didn't have to ask what happened.

"Sorry," I said, sitting up."

"Are you all right?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," I said, pulling myself up and leaning on the closest desk.

"Here," he said, handing me a chocolate frog. "Eat this before we try again. I didn't expect you to do it your first time. In fact, I would have been stunned if you did."

"It's getting worse," I muttered, taking a small bite of the chocolate frog. "I could hear her louder that time. And him—Voldemort, I mean."

Lupin looked extremely pale—paler than normal. "Alice, if you don't want to continue—"

"I do!" I said quickly, shoving the rest of the chocolate in my mouth. "I have to! What if the dementors turn up at the match against Ravenclaw? I can't afford to fall off again. If we lose this game, we won't have a shot at the cup."

"Okay, then," Lupin said, still looking a bit apprehensive. "You might want to select another memory, a happier one. That one didn't seem to have been strong enough."

I nodded and thought, finally deciding on when Gryffindor had wont the House Championship last year. That had definitely qualified as very happy. I gripped my wand tightly.

"Ready?" Lupin asked.

I nodded, and tried to fill my heads with happy thoughts about Gryffindor winning, not what was going to happen when the dementor reappeared. Lupin opened the case, and the room went cold again. The dementor glided towards me and my insides went cold.

"Expecto patronum!" I shouted. "Expecto patronum! Expecto—"

I felt myself falling into the white fog again. Shapes were blurred around me, and a deep voice started shouting.

"_Cynthia, take Alice and go! It's him! Run! I'll hold him off—"_

_There were the sounds of someone running out of the room before a door burst open, and a cold, high-pitched laughter._

"Alice! Alice, wake up," someone was saying. I opened my eyes and saw Lupin looking down at me. It took me a moment to realize I was lying on the floor. Again.

"I heard my dad," I muttered. "That's the first time I ever heard him—he tried to take on Voldemort himself to give my mum time to run for it." I took in a shaky breath as tears fell down my cheeks. I hastily brought my hand up and wiped the tears away. I didn't need Lupin thinking I was a cry baby on top of being weak.

"You heard Jason?" Lupin asked, his voice strained.

"Yeah," I said softly, giving him a look. "Did—did you know my dad?"

"I did, actually," he said. "We were friends at Hogwarts. Listen Alice—maybe we should leave this for another night. This charm is very advanced…I shouldn't have suggested putting you through this…"

"No!" I said loudly. "I'm not thinking of a happy enough memory. Let me have another go. Hang on…" I racked my brains, trying to think of the happiest memory that would give me a strong Patronus. The moment when I first found out I was a witch and I'd be leaving the Prunley's forever. If that wasn't a happy memory, I didn't know what was.

I concentrated on how I'd felt when I realized I'd be leaving River Way. I got to my feet and faced the suitcase.

"Ready? Concentrating hard? Go!"

He opened the case and the dementor emerged, turning the room cold and dark.

"EXPECTO PATRONUM!" I shouted. "EXPECTO PATRONUM! EXPECTO PATRONUM!" The screaming inside my head started again, except it sounded farther away, like someone was screaming the distance, softer and softer---and I could still see dementor instead of being engulfed by the white fog. It halted, and then a huge silvery shadow came bursting out of the end of my wand, hovering between me and the dementor.

"Riddikulus!" Lupin shouted, jumping forward. There was aloud crack, and the dementor disappeared, transforming into the silver orb again as Professor Lupin forced it back into the suitcase. I sunk down into a chair, my legs shaking. "Excellent!" Lupin said, walking over to me. "Excellent, Alice. That was a great start."

"Can I try again?" I asked.

"No, not now. You've had enough for one night. Here," he said, handing me a large bar of Honeydukes chocolate. "Eat this all or Madam Pomfrey will be out of my blood. Same time next week, then?"

I nodded and stared nibbling on the chocolate. I watched as Lupin started extinguishing the lamps when something occurred to me. "Professor Lupin? If you knew my dad, then you must have known Sirius Black!"

Lupin turned to face me quickly. "Why would you say that?" he asked sharply.

"Nothing," I said, shrinking back a little. "I just knew they were friends at Hogwarts is all…"

Lupin seemed to relax a little. "Yes, I knew him. Well, I thought I did. You better be off, Alice. It's getting late."

I nodded then headed out the door and down the corridor back towards the Gryffindor Common Room. I finished my chocolate on the way, wishing I hadn't mentioned Black in the first place. Lupin hadn't been enthusiastic about talking about him—not that I could blame him for that. I mean, if I'd been friends with a murderous lying backstabber when I was young, it wouldn't be something I'd want to be reminded of.

The next week, Ravenclaw played Slytherin. Slytherin won, though narrowly. However, according to Wood, this was a good thing. We would take second place if we beat Ravenclaw, too. Wood regained his fanatic and increased our practices to five times a week. That mean, with Lupin's anti-dementor lessons, I only had one day a week to do my homework. Even so, I wasn't showing the strain as much as Bella was. It seemed her workload was finally getting to her. Every night, she sat in the corner of the common room, the table filled with books, charts, and objects, and she would snap at anyone who disturbed her concentration.

"How's she doing it?" Rosalie asked me one night.

"Doing what?" I asked, looking up from working on an essay for Snape's class. I glanced over at Bella, who was hidden behind an enormous stack of books.

"Getting to all her classes." Edward nodded in agreement. "I heard her talking to Professor Vector—she teaches Arithmancy—about yesterday's lesson this morning, but she can't have been there since she was in Care of Magical Creatures with us. And Angela Webber told me she's never missed a Muggle Studies class, but half of them are at the same time as Divination, and she's never missed a single one of them, either."

"Something fishy's going on," Edward agreed.

I shrugged once. I didn't have a change to figure it out—I really needed to finish this essay. As soon as I bent down to work on it again, I was interrupted, this time by Wood.

"Bad news, Alice," he said, walking over to me. "I've just been to see Professor McGonagall about the Firebolt. She—uh—got a bit shirty with me. Told me I had my priorities wrong. Seemed to think I cared more about winning the cup than about you just because I told her I didn't care if the broom threw you off, just s long as you caught the Snitch first." He shook his head. "Honestly, the way she was yelling at me, you'd think I'd said something wrong. And then I asked her how long they were going to keep it for." He screwed up is face. "'As long as necessary, Wood,'" he said, imitating her. "Think it may be time to order a new broom. You could get a Nimbus 2001. You know, the kind Malfoy has."

"I'm not getting anything Malfoy has," I said dryly. "Or anything he thinks is good."

"Okay, okay," he said. "All I'm saying is—"

"I hear you, Oliver," I said, cutting him off. "I'll think about it, okay?"

Wood nodded once before turning around and walking away. I swore he turned back to look at me again, but maybe I was seeing things on account of being exhausted from Quidditch practices, anti-dementor lessons, and homework.

January turned into February with no change in the cold weather. The match against Ravenclaw was four days away, but I still had yet to order a new broom. I just kept hoping Professor McGonagall would give it to me. Every day after lessons, I would ask her about it.

"No, Brandon, you can't have it back yet" she said dryly on before I even opened my mouth. "I will tell you when you can have it back." I sighed miserably and left the room with Rosalie and Edward. Bella, who we still weren't speaking to, had already headed back to the Common Room—most likely to take up her spot in the corner like she'd been doing every day.

"Hey," I said quietly as we made our ways down the corridor. "Do either of you know what's under a dementor's hood?" I asked. It was something I'd been wondering for awhile, but I didn't want to ask Professor Lupin.

Rosalie shook her head, but Edward nodded. "I know. Carlisle told Emmett and me once when we asked. He didn't really know though0—the only people who really know what's under it are the people who are given the Dementor's kiss."

"Dementor's kiss?" I asked. "What's that?"

"It's their final weapon. I mean, I guess there's a mouth or something because how else would they suck the soul out?"

I heard Rosalie squeak beside me and I stared at Edward. "Suck…suck out the soul?" I gasped. "You mean kill them?"

He shook his head. "No. Carlisle said you can live without a soul. It's almost worse than being dead. You're just…there. An empty shell, basically. And it's irreversible. Once it's done, you can't undo it."

I shuddered. "That's awful," I whispered.

"Hey, Rosalie!" we heard someone call. "Wait up!" The three of us turned around and saw Oliver Wood calling and waving at her.

"We'll meet you back in the Common Room, okay?" I said, shoving Edward. I'd seen this in one of my visions—he was about to ask her out, and I wanted to give her some privacy.

"What was that about?" Edward asked when we'd rounded the corner.

"Wood's going to ask her to Hogsmede next weekend. Speaking of which, have you asked anybody? It is Valentine's Day, after all."

"No," he admitted. "I was assuming I'd just go with Bella like we normally do. That is if we're speaking by then. What about you?"

"No slip, remember. But I guess Harry'll want to spend some time together," I sighed.

"What's wrong?" he asked, giving me a look. "Don't you like Harry?"

"I do. It's just…" I trailed off as Fred, George, Emmett, and Jasper walked by us. They waved at me and Edward. Jasper gave me a smile as he walked by, and I forgot what I was saying.

"It's someone else, right?" Edward asked, looking at me.

"Yeah," I admitted. "It is. I didn't mean for this to happen. I mean, I thought I was over this guy, but every time I see him, it's like my heart skips a beat. And I feel awful since I'm supposed to be dating Harry. I don't know what to do," I sighed miserably, heading up the stairs towards Gryffindor Tower.

"I'm no shrink, and I'm not a girl, but you can't keep doing this, Alice. Harry really likes you, and you're pretty much stringing him along."

"I know. I didn't mean to do that."

"The way I see it, you have two options. Either break things off with him, or forget about Jasper."

"You're right. Hey, how did you know it was Jasper?"

"Well, I saw they way you reacted when the four of them walked by. I just guessed one. Looks like I guess right," he teased, poking me in the side.

"Jerk," I muttered, giving the password and heading into the Common Room. Edward and I took two seats by the fire and waited for Rosalie to join us. Ten minutes later, she came bursting through the portrait, her face full of excitement.

"You'll never guess what just happened!" she squealed. "Oliver Wood just asked me out! We're going to Hogsmeade together next weekend! Oh my gosh, I'm so happy!"

"What about Emmett?" I asked quietly.

"Screw him—no offense, Edward. I've been waiting for him forever, and he still doesn't see me as anything other than Fred and George's baby sister. Oliver's really nice, and he's really cute."

"That he is," I sighed dreamily. I was head over heels in love with Jasper, but that didn't stop me from fantasizing about my Quidditch captain. Oliver was strong and muscular, and it didn't hurt that he had a face that was enjoyable to look at.

"Exactly," she said to me. "So I'm going to go out with the hot, seventh year Gryffindor Quidditch captain instead of the crappy fifth year Gryffindor Chaser."

The portrait swung open at that moment and Professor McGonagall walked in with Dean following her, looking thankful. I heard him telling Seamus that's he'd written all the passwords for the week down, but he'd lost the list. Typical Dean. Professor McGonagall walked over to me with the Firebolt in her hand. Did this mean what I thought it did?

"Well, here you are," Professor McGonagall said, handing the broom to me. "We've done everything we could think of, and there doesn't seem to be anything wrong with it. You've got a very good friend out there Miss Brandon."

"Seriously? I can have it back? You'll need to get a feel for it before Saturday's match. And Alice? _Do_ try and win, or Gryffindor will be out of the running for the cup for the eighth year in a row, as Professor Snape was kind enough to remind me yesterday." She shook her head before turning around and walking back out of the Common Room.

I turned to Rosalie and Edward, my shocked expression mirroring theirs. "I can't believe she gave it back to you," Edward gasped. "I mean, you own a real Firebolt!"

"You know what? We should make up with Bella. She was only trying to help, after all."

"Yeah, you're right," Edward admitted, Rosalie nodding in agreement. The three of us walked over to where Bella was sitting, bent over her work and avoiding looking in the direction where we had been sitting. Everyone was staring at us, whispering excitedly about what was in my hands.

"I got it back," I said, grinning at her, showing her the Firebolt.

"Bee, Bella? There was nothing wrong with it," Rosalie said.

"Well, there _might_ have been," she said defensively.

"I know," I admitted. "I'd better put it upstairs—"

"I'll do it!" Rosalie said, taking the Firebolt from me and carefully carrying it up to our dorm. Edward and I took a seat by Bella. I looked at the cluttered table. She was working on an Arithmancy essay while a longer Muggle Studies essay was off to the left, the ink drying.

"How are you getting through all this stuff?" I asked, looking her over. There were dark bags under eyes—she could give Professor Lupin a run for his money on who looked more tired.

"You know, just working hard," she said, stifling a big yawn.

"Why don't you just drop a few subjects?" Edward suggested. "I mean, Arithmancy looks terrible," he said, lifting a large book.

"Oh, no! It's wonderful! It's my favorite subject. It's—"

We never found out what Arithmancy was because there was a loud shriek from upstairs, followed by fast footsteps. Rosalie appeared, glaring at Bella, her face red. "LOOK!" she shouted, her bedsheets in her hand. "LOOK!"

"Rose, what—"

"SCABBERS! LOOK, SCABBERS!" Rosalie shoved the sheets in Bella's face while Bella tried to lean back slightly so she could look at what Rosalie wanted her to see.

"Rose, I don't know what—"

"BLOOD!" she screamed, pointing to an area of red on the sheets. "HE'S GONE! AND DO YOU KNOW WHAT WAS ON THE SHEETS NEXT TO IT?"

"N—no," she stuttered, holding back tears. Rosalie threw three long ginger hairs on top of Bella's essay.

"Don't talk to me again," Rosalie said before storming upstairs. Bella looked stunned before bursting into tears. Edward and I exchanged looks. He nodded towards the stairs before putting an arm around Bella's shoulders, meaning I was the one who had to go talk to Rose.

I got up and headed up the stairs, where Rosalie was lying on her sheetless bed, crying her eyes out. "Rose, calm down," I said sympathetically, sitting on the edge of her bed. "I mean weren't you always saying how boring Scabbers was? Maybe next weekend, you can get a new rat in Hogsmeade."

Rosalie looked at me before bursting into a fresh round of tears. She seemed to be taking the death of Scabbers very hard. "He—he bit M—Malfoy for us, r—r—remember?" she managed to choke out through her tears.

"He did," I said, remembering Malfoy's shrieks of pain during our first ride on the Hogwarts Express. "It'll be okay, Rose. Don't worry—you and Bella will be friends again in no time."

"I'm not going to be friends with that rat murderer! This wouldn't have happened if she didn't let that mad cat run around like it owns the place!" She sobbed into her pillow. "That was the only thing that was really mine, and now it's gone."

I didn't know what else to say to her or how to make her feel better, so I crawled into bed and went to sleep, not knowing if Bella came up to bed or slept in the Common Room. I had the Quidditch match tomorrow to worry about, anyways.

In what seemed like a moment later, the sun was shining on my face and it was morning—Ravenclaw versus Gryffindor was in a few short hours. I rummaged around in my room until I pulled on a pair of clothes. I grabbed my Quidditch robes and the Firebolt. Rosalie was sitting on the edge of her bed, waiting for me. The two of us headed downstairs, where the entire team was waiting for me. They seemed to think my broom deserved an escort down to the Great Hall.

Wood took Rosalie's hand, and the group of us walked down together. When we entered the Great Hall, heads immediately turned towards us, staring at the broom in my hands. I grinned when I saw the expressions on the Slytherin's faces—absolute shock.

"Did you see Malfoy's face?" Rosalie asked as she took a seat at the table between Wood and me. "He can't believe it! This is brilliant." I looked down the table where Edward and Bella were sitting. Edward was saying something to Bella, but she still looked miserable. I wanted to go over and see if she was okay, but I knew Rosalie would be angry at me if I did, so I just stayed where I was.

I looked around for Harry, but I didn't see him anywhere. Instead, Jasper was sitting next to me, admiring the broom while also keeping an arm around my waist. I didn't know what to think of it, so I let him keep his arm there.

"Put it here, Alice," Wood said, taking the broom from me and lying it on the table. The entire team stared at it, basking in the glory of the greatest broom ever made. Soon, people from Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff were coming over to have a look. Jacob Black came up and congratulated me on acquiring such a good broom. Emily Call, Percy's girlfriend, actually asked if she could touch it.

"Now, now, Em. No sabotage. Emily and I have a little bet. Ten galleons to the outcome of the match." Emily put the Firebolt back down and headed back to her table. "Alice, make sure you win!" Percy said in a hushed whisper. "I don't _have_ ten galleons! Yes, yes, I'm coming Emily." He hurried away as Jasper and I broke down into laughter.

"Why'd he even make the bet in the first place?" he asked, his hand brushing over mine.

"_Okay, Alice needs rest. Everyone out!" Mrs. Weasley ordered to everyone crowded around my bed in the hospital wing._

"_But Mum," Rosalie complained, sitting next to me, her hand on my shoulder, which was still covered by the ripped and torn shirt I had been wearing in the maze a few hours earlier._

"_Rosalie, you heard me! Everyone out!"_

"_I'm not leaving," Jasper muttered, still lying on the bed with me, his arms wrapped around my waist._

"_Jasper," Mrs. Weasley said in a warning tone._

"_Mrs. Weasley, with all due respect, she'd my girlfriend. She almost died tonight, and she came back carrying the body of Bella's boyfriend." Bella let out a sob, her hands covering her face. " I'm sorry, but I don't want to let Alice out of my sight for awhile."_

"_I want him to stay here with me," I murmured, burying my face into Jasper's chest. "Please, stay here with me," I said to him._

"_I'm not going anywhere, love," he said, kissing the top of my head._

"Sure you can handle that broom, Brandon?" Draco Malfoy drawled, coming up behind me with Crabbe and Goyle. Everyone turned to look at them.

"Yeah, I suppose so," I said.

"Too bad it doesn't have a parachute in case a dementor get's near," he said, smirking. Crabbe and Goyle sniggered behind him.

"It's a shame you're doesn't have an extra arm to catch the Snitch for you," I shot back. The entire Gryffindor table erupted into laughter. And Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle stalked off. They rejoined the Slytherin team, who huddled around Malfoy in hushed whispers.

"What are they talking about?" Rosalie asked, glancing over at the Slytherin's.

"Probably asking if I actually have a Firebolt," I said, shaking my head. Wood stood up a moment later, telling us all to follow him. I waved goodbye to Rosalie, who was left at the table with Ron, and followed the rest of the team out of the castle and down to the locker rooms. Once there, I pulled on my Quidditch robes and stuck my wand in my shirt. I just hoped I wouldn't have to use it.

Wood paced in front of us. "Okay men—"

"—and women," Angelina and I corrected him, laughing.

Wood rolled his eyes at us. "And women," he added. "You know what we've got to do. If we lose this, we're out of the running for the cup. Just fly like you've been flying in practice, and we'll be okay!" The seven of us walked on to the field—Emmett, Jasper and Angelina, followed by Fred and George, followed by me and Wood. We heard applause as we walked out.

The Ravenclaw team was already out there in their blue robes, waiting for us. I saw their Seeker—Tyler Crowley, a fourth year. He was smaller than the rest of the team, but still bigger than me. Even though I was hopelessly in love with Jasper and had a boyfriend, I couldn't help admitting he was cute. Really cute. He smiled and winked at me, and I could feel myself blushing slightly.

"Wood, Davies, shake hands," Madam Hooch ordered. Wood and the Ravenclaw captain Roger Davies shook hands politely. "Mount your brooms. On my whistle. One…two…three!"

I kicked off into the air, and my Firebolt zoomed higher and faster than any of the other brooms. I flew around the stadium, searching for the Snitch while listening to the commentary provided, as usual, by Lee Jordan.

"They're off, and the big excitement this match is the Firebolt that Alice Brandon of Gryffindor is flying. According to _Which Broomstick_, the Firebolt is going to be the broom of choice this year—"

"Jordan, would you mind telling us what is going on in the match?" Professor McGonagall interrupted him.

"Yes, Professor, just giving a bit of background. By the way, the Firebolt has a built-in break—"

"Jordan!"

"Alright, alright. Gryffindor in possession. Jasper Hale headed for the goal."

I streaked by Jasper in the opposite direction, looking for the speck of gold. Tyler was tailing me closely. He was an excellent flyer. He kept cutting across me, forcing me to change direction.

"Show him your acceleration, Alice!" Fred shouted, chasing a Bludger that was headed for Emmett. I urged the Firebolt forward, and in a burst of speed, I left Tyler behind. At the same moment, Jasper scored, putting Gryffindor in the lead at the moment.

That was when I saw it. The little glint of gold on the ground by the bleachers. I dove. Tyler saw what I was doing and followed me. I was getting closer when a Bludger hit by one of the Ravenclaw Beaters threw me off course. In that moment, the Snicth disappeared. The Ravenclaws cheered, but George vented his frustration by hitting the Bludger back at the Beater.

"Gryffindor leads eighty to zero, and look at that Firebolt go! Brandon's really putting it through its paces now, see it turn—Crowley's Comet is just no match for it. The Firebolt's precision and balance—"

"JORDAN! ARE YOU BEING PAID TO ADVERTISE FIREBOLTS? GET ON WITH THE COMMENTARY!"

Ravenclaw was starting to catch up. They'd scored three goals, and I still hadn't seen the Snitch since it disappeared. If Tyler caught the Snitch before me, we would lose, and I couldn't let that happen.

Then, I saw it again. The glimmer of gold. The Snitch was circling the Gryffindor goal post. I accelerated, heading in the direction of the Snitch, when Tyler appeared, blocking me. I swerved to avoid a collision.

"ALICE! THIS IS NO TIME TO BE POLITE! KNOCK HIM OFF HIS BROOM IF YOU HAVE TO!" Wood bellowed at me. I looked over at Tyler—he had a huge grin on his face because, once again, the Snitch had disappeared. I sighed angrily and began searching the stadium. Tyler seemed to be tailing me instead of looking for the Snitch. Well, if that was how he wanted to play…

I dove like I'd seen the Snitch, and Tyler followed me. I rose sharply while Tyler kept travelling down, and I saw it for the third time. The Snitch. I shot towards it, Tyler following me, though he was several feet below me. I was getting closer when I heard Tyler gasp sharply. I looked over and saw three dementors floating into the stadium. I didn't even pause to think. I pulled my wand out of my robes, pointed, and shouted "_Expecto Patronum!_" Something silvery shot out of my wand, and I continued flying towards the Snitch.

My fingers closed around it and Madam Hooch's whistle blew. It was over. We still had a chance at the cup. I landed on the ground, screaming happily.

"We won! We won!" I shrieked as Fred and George landed on either side of me, hugging me tightly. Rosalie was running towards us, and Oliver lifted her in the air, giving her a bug. I looked over and spotted Jasper running towards me.

"Jasper, we won!" I shouted, throwing my arms around my neck. And even though I'd seen it in my vision, I was still stunned when his lips met mine. I expected to go into a vision, but it was like I was seeing everything clearly instead of fading out. It felt like fire was erupting on my skin as Jasper's arms wound around my waist, pulling me closer to him. I tightened my arms around his neck, never wanting us to part.

I heard gasps from the other members of our team before someone whistled. I heard someone—I think it was Angelina—mutter 'finally' as Jasper slowly pulled back, a smile forming on his lips. His hands still stayed on my waist, and I moved mine from around my neck so they were resting on his shoulders.

"Wow," I gasped, having no other words to say.

"Wow," he agreed, bending over to kiss me again. His lips were close to mine when we heard someone clear their throat angrily. Oh no.

"Alice!"

Jasper and I turned to look, and saw Harry glaring at us, hurt in his eyes. Crap.

**Aah, sorry I died there. School kicked my ass, but it's over now, so I'm back to writing. I'll try to have the next one up by…Wednesday. Try being the key word. Love you all! Please review!**


	31. After the Match

Chapter 29: After the Match

Everything seemed to be going on in a blur around me as I raced back to the castle, following Harry, determined to make things right. Everyone was crowding around me in an effort to congratulate me, but I pushed passed them. I saw Jasper looking at me with a confused expression, but I didn't have time to deal with him right now. McGonagall was yelling at Draco Malfoy, Crabbe, Goyle, and Marcus Flint for pretending to be dementors, but I ran right by them.

"Hey Alice!" Fred called. "Party in the Common Room!"

"Can't talk Fred!" I shouted over my shoulder, running out of the pitch, still in my scarlet robes. I didn't see Harry anywhere nearby, so I headed for the castle instead. I made it inside and looked around, wondering where he would have gone.

I started up the stairs towards the second floor when I heard something that sounded like it was in pain. Curious, I headed down the hall and opened a broom closet, where I saw Harry hunched on the floor crying.

"Harry, I'm so sorry!" I said, bending down beside him and placing a hand on his arm. He jerked it away and turned his back to me. "Harry, please talk to me! I didn't mean for this to happen!"

"If you like him, why did you even date me in the first place?" he asked, turning towards me, his eyes red. "I mean, I really liked you, and all you did was string me along."

"It—it wasn't like that. I swear it wasn't. I thought—I thought maybe I could like you and get over Jasper," I said quietly. "And you were really nice and sweet. And I shouldn't have let it go on so long. I should have ended it when I realized I still liked Jasper."

"And you shouldn't have kissed him when you were still dating me."

"I _didn't_ kiss him! He kissed me!"

"Alice, I saw what happened. He might have started the kiss, but you were kissing him back, so don't lie to me." He raked a hand through his messy hair.

"Okay, fine, I kissed him back," I admitted reluctantly. It was true, anyways. "Is there anything I can do?" I asked.

"Just…don't talk to me for awhile. Because right now, I can't even look at you without feeling sick and wanting to hurt someone." He sighed. "So, are you going to date Jasper now?"

"I don't know," I said quietly. "He's older than me."

"So you threw our relationship away, and you're not going to even bother dating the guy you just made out with? I don't understand you, Alice Brandon."

"Yeah, I know," I said. "Well, there's a party in the Common Room now. I'll see you around," I said, disappearing out of the closet and heading back to the Common Room. I gave Sir Cadogan the password and walked in.

It felt like we'd already won the Cup with the way everyone was carrying on. I was greeted by a surge of loud noise when I walked into the Common Room. Fred and George grabbed me, hoisting me onto their shoulders. Wood hugged me tightly before going back over to Rosalie, away from Fred and George who still didn't know about their relationship. The entire house seemed to be congratulating me. Well, almost the entire house. I saw Harry walk into the Common Room and quickly head up to his dorm. Ron saw him and followed behind him, shooting me an evil glare.

I sighed sadly as Jasper walked over to me, putting an arm around me and pulling me close to him. "Are you okay?" he asked, picking up on my mood.

"I'm fine," I muttered, glaring at him. "Thanks a lot."

"What?" he asked, giving me a look.

"You ruined my relationship! Because of that stunt you pulled on the Quidditch field, Harry hates me now! And you're standing there like nothing happened and things can just go back to the way they used to be. Just…leave me alone for awhile," I said, pushing his arm away and heading over towards Edward and Bella.

"Alice, wait," he said, grabbing my hand.

_Jasper and I were walking towards the lake hand in hand, away from everyone else who was gathered around each other after the ceremony. I looked down at the little black dress I was wearing, wiping the tears away from my eyes, getting my lack gloves wet. I looked up at Jasper, feeling like a horrible person. "Jasper, we have to stop seeing each other," I said quietly._

_Instead of yelling, Jasper looked at me sadly, nodding. "I guess I knew this day would come eventually. There's something you have to do, isn't there?"_

_I nodded. "I have to go away. With Bella, Edward, and Rosalie. We have something we need to do. I just…we have to end it now. I love you, but I can't be with you."_

"_You're doing this for some noble reason, aren't you?" he asked._

"_Voldemort uses people his enemies are close to. He used Rosalie as bait once, and that was because she's my best friend. Imagine what he'll do to you when he finds out we're together? And don't say he won't, because he will. He always finds out. He'll try to get me through you, and he won't care about injuring or killing you in the process."_

"_I don't care," he said hardly, looking at me with his fierce blue eyes._

"_I do care!" I said, tears starting to flow out of my eyes. "How do you think I would feel if this was your funeral, and it was my fault? I already have enough blood on my hands as it is…"_

_Jasper looked away from me, still keeping a hold on my hand. "Ever since we got together, I always knew this would end up happening. I knew you'd never really be happy unless you were fighting Voldemort. It's one of the reasons I love you so much." He turned towards me, wrapping his arms around me as I buried my face in his shoulder, sobbing. He kissed the top of my head softly. "Shh, it's going to be okay, Alice. I'll wait for you."_

_I looked up at him. "But that's just it. There might not be anything left to wait for by the time I'm done. I don't know if I'm going to survive this one, Jasper. And I don't want you to waste your life waiting for me. I'm sorry," I sobbed, collapsing against his chest again. The two of us just stood there for a few minutes, knowing how much we loved each other but knowing we couldn't be together. Not now, at least. _

"Alice? Alice!" Jasper called, waving a hand in front of my face. My eyes focused as I stared up at him. "What was that? What just happened to you?"

"Nothing," I mumbled, pushing him away as I went over to Bella and Edward. I could feel Jasper staring at me, but I just couldn't deal with him right now. There was a cheer as Emmett burst into the Common Room, his arms filled with butterbeers and bags of Honeydukes sweets. I saw him looking around, then frown when he realized Rosalie wasn't here. I knew exactly where she was—in one of the empty classrooms snogging Oliver. I shook my head as I imagined what would happen If Fred or George found them.

Bella was reading a book that looked extremely complicated while Edward watched her, sipping on a butterbeer Emmett handed him. "Bella, why don't you take a break?" he suggested, waving a hunk of fudge in front of her.

"I really can't Edward," she said, pushing his hand away. "I really need to have this read by Monday. You did excellent today, Alice," she said, turning her attention to me. She looked around the Common Room for a moment, spotting Rosalie walking in. "And that's my cue to leave," she said as her eyes met Rosalie's icy glare. She took her book and ran up to the dorm, probably to try and fall asleep before Rosalie went to bed. Rosalie smiled at Oliver before walking over to join us.

"Can't you give her a break?" Edward muttered as she opened a butterbeer and took a big sip, her cheeks flushed. "No. She won't admit she'd wrong. If she'd just admit her monster cat ate Scabbers, I'd let it go. But she keeps pretending he's gone on vacation or something. Like he'll pop up tomorrow."

The party carried on into the early morning until Professor McGonagall showed up in her dressing gown and told us all to quiet down and go to bed. Rosalie and I climbed the stairs to the girls' dorm, saying good night to Edward. I saw Jasper look my way, but I purposely ignored him.

"What's going on between you two?" Rosalie asked as we walked in. Bella had the curtains around her bed drawn, but I was pretty sure she was still awake. She spent most nights crying—I would hear her before I fell asleep. "I mean, everyone saw that kiss earlier, and he was staring at you all night. Are you guys going out?" she asked excitedly.

"No," I said. "And I don't want to."

"What? Why the heck not? Alice, that was our plan last year—make those boys jealous until they realized they were in love with us and wanted to be with us. It obviously worked for you, so why aren't you taking this opportunity to make Jasper yours?"

"Is that what you're doing?" I asked quietly. "Is that what's going on with Oliver? You're only with him to make Emmett jealous until he realizes he wants you the same way you want him?"

"No, of course not," she said, her cheeks turning slightly pink. "I actually like Oliver, believe it or not. I'm not doing to him what you did to Harry."

"And what's _that_ supposed to mean?" I asked, getting angry.

"Oh, come on Alice. Don't act like that. Everyone and their mother could tell you were just using Harry to get Jasper jealous. You didn't really like him. Well, not the way he liked you. He was just a pawn in your chess game of love. Even if you don't want to admit it, you know it's true."

I glared at her for a minute, knowing she was completely right. "I'm going to bed," I grumbled, stripping off my clothes and pulling on my pajamas. I climbed into bed, pulling the curtains shut and falling asleep instantly. Maybe it was all the food I had eaten at the party, but I had very strange dreams. I was in the forest, following something silvery white. It was ahead of me, so I couldn't catch a good glimpse of it. I started running through the trees, trying to catch up to it. I could hear hooves on the ground. I heard galloping ahead. I was almost there. I could almost see it—

"AHHHHHHHHHH! NOOOOO!" someone shrieked. I woke up suddenly, tangled in my sheets. I fumbled with the curtains on my bed as I heard Hermione Granger asking what was going on across the room. I pulled open my curtains as Lavender Brown lit a lamp.

"What's the matter?" she asked, looking around. Rosalie was sitting up in bed, the hangings torn.

"Black! Sirius Black! In here!" she gasped.

"_What?_" we all asked in unison.

"Standing over my bed! With a knife! Slashed the curtains!" she squeaked before bursting into tears, her arms wrapped around her knees.

"Are you sure you weren't dreaming?" Hermione asked kindly, sitting down next to Rose.

"He was here!" she sobbed. "Look at the curtains!"

Hermione helped Rosalie out of bed, and all of us headed down the stairs towards the Common Room, doors opening as we did so. "What's going on?" sleepy voices asked. "Who shouted?"

"Are you _sure_ you weren't dreaming?" Parvati Patil asked as some of the boys came down the stairs into the deserted Common Room, which was still messy from the party earlier.

"I swear I saw him!" she said, her voice rising and getting angrier. That tended to happen with Rose when no one would listen to her, as I had experienced a few times.

"What's all the noise?" Seamus Finnigan asked, looking at all of us huddled around Rosalie. "McGonagall said to go to bed."

"Excellent. Are we carrying on?" Fred asked, walking in with George, Jasper, Emmett, and Lee following him.

"Shut up, Fred," Rosalie snapped. He gave her a look, but didn't say anything more.

"Everyone back upstairs!" Percy ordered, walking into the crowd of people staring at us.

"Perce—Sirius Black!" Rosalie sobbed, Hermione's arms still around her shoulders as Lavender patted her kindly on the back. Bella stood off to the side, looking horrified. "In our dorm! With a knife! Woke me up!"

The entire room went silent. No one was even whispering to each other. There was just a sense of fear going through everyone at once. "Nonsense," Percy said after a moment. "You've just—just had too much to eat—had a nightmare—"

"It wasn't a nightmare!" she shouted.

"Now really, enough is enough!" Professor McGonagall had walked into the Common Room, looking very angry. "I am delighted that Gryffindor won the match, but this is getting ridiculous. Percy, I expected better of you!"

"I certainly didn't authorize this, Professor. I was just telling them all to get back to bed. My sister, Rosalie, was having a nightmare—"

"IT WASN'T A NIGHTMARE!" Rosalie shouted, standing up. "PROFESSOR, I WOKE UP AND SIRIUS BLACK WAS STANDING OVER MY BED HOLDING A KNIFE!"

Professor McGonagall stared at her. "Don't be ridiculous, Miss Weasley. How could he have gotten through the portrait hole?"

"Ask him!" she shrieked, pointing at the back of Sir Cadogan's painting.

Giving Rosalie a suspicious look, Professor McGonagall pushed the portrait open and went out into the corridor, everyone looking after her, "Sir Cadogan, did you just let a man enter Gryffindor Tower?"

"Certainly, m'lady," he responded.

There was a stunned silence, both inside and outside the portrait. "You—you _did_? But—the password?"

"He had them," he said proudly. "Had the whole weeks. Read them off a little piece of paper."

Professor McGonagall walked back into the Common room, her face very white. "Which person," she asked in a strained voice. "Which foolish person wrote down this week's passwords, then left them _lying_ around?" There was total silence, then a small sqeak as Dean Thomas raised his hand in the air.

**Sorry this is a short chapter, but I've been busy and wanted to get one out. Next one will be extra long to make up for the long gap and this short chapter. And I will have it done faster. Promise. You can beat me with a stick if it isn't or harass me with PM's or whatever.**


	32. Author's Note

OMG. I'm sosososo sorry I haven't updated in...forever. I've been super busy with school and such and just haven't had time. Plus, my computer is in the shop ATM and my computer doesn't have word. I'm in the computer lab doing this. So, I won't have a chance to write another chapter until break (the 15th). But after that, I WILL be writing. I promise. (This applies to any stories I'm currently working on). Thank you for understanding :)


	33. Another's Author's Note

AUTHOR'S NOTE

Sorry I haven't updated in almost a year. I've been very very busy with school and such. But the good news is, once my finals are over, I'm going to update all my stories. And I should be updating constantly for over a month. And I'm going to try during the next semester to. I'm very sorry I haven't updated anything, but I actually do promise to do it. My last final is the 13th of December, so I'll start writing after that.

~Laura


	34. Wins and Loses

Chapter 30: Wins and Loses

We all sat there in shock, no one moving a muscle. The fact that Sirius Black had just been inside the common room moments before seemed to be the only thing people were talking about. Rosalie sat off to the side, her face pale. Her brothers and Emmett surrounded her while Wood looked on from the side, clearly worried about her.

I was seated next to Jasper on the couch, his arms wrapped around me. I may have been pissed at him, but right now, he was the only thing keeping me from breaking apart. After all, Sirius Black had been in our dorm room. Sirius Black, who wanted to _kill_ me, had been inches from me. I was just thankful he had the wrong bed. But then I realized I was glad he found my best friend instead, causing me to break down into tears.

"Shh, it's okay," Jasper murmured, rubbing my back as everyone kept looking back at the portrait, hoping McGonagall would appear and tell us he had been captured.

Unfortunately, when she appeared at around four in the morning, she told us he had escaped, at which point everyone returned to bed. Rosalie, who was still terrified beyond belief, crawled into bed with me, and the two of us stared at the canopy of my bed until we eventually fell asleep from sheer exhaustion.

Security around the castle increased. I saw Professor Flitwick showing the front doors a picture of Sirius Black and telling them not to let him in. Every secret passageway was either closed or had a guard placed in front of it—every one except the passage into Honeydukes. I guessed it was true that only the Weasley twins and Emmett knew about it—well, them and us. I wondered if I should tell anyone, but Rosalie was quick to point out that we would have heard if there was a break in at Honeydukes.

The Fat Lady returned to her post at Gryffindor tower—along with two security trolls for protection. I had to admit, it was a bit eerie at night seeing them out there, grunting and giving me the evil eye. I was always happy to get back into the common room as fast as I could.

Rosalie? Well, for once in her life, everyone was paying attention to her instead of me. She had been the one to see Sirius Black, after al. It was like she was the girl who lived now. She couldn't help but be hounded by people as we walked to class, all eager to hear what happened.

"…I was sleeping when I heard this tearing sound," she said to a group of fifth year boys who had taken to following the two of us around, hanging on to every word Rosalie said. "At first I thought I was still dreaming, like I ripped my dress or something. But then I looked up and saw the bed hangings had been torn. And then I saw him. He was like a monster. He was all dirty and he had his filthy hair hanging in his face. I just stared at him for a few seconds before I started screaming. And then he just ran off!" she said.

After the guys had left, Rosalie turned to me. "I wonder why," she said as we headed towards the Great Hall. "I mean, he was older than me. He could have silenced me. Why didn't he? Why'd he run instead?"

I'd been curious about that as well. After all, he'd proven he had no qualms about murdering innocent people. Though after Rosalie screamed, it was more than twelve people he'd have to kill. "Probably he didn't think he could get out uncaptured if he did. I mean, he'd have to kill everyone in the house, then the teachers who would have shown up to see what was wrong. It was easier to just cut his losses and run."

Rosalie nodded in agreement as we made our way to the Gryffindor table. She looked over at Oliver, who was sitting with a few other seventh year boys, and flashed him a smile before taking a seat next to me. Edward and Bella were sitting a few feet away. After Crookshanks had eaten Scabbers, I took Rosalie's side. I had to—she was my best friend. And if that meant I couldn't talk to Bella until Rosalie got over this, then I wouldn't talk to her. Edward stuck by Bella, though he still spoke to us. I think it was more he didn't want Bella to be alone.

I looked up as the mail came in, hearing Dean talking about how he'd been banned from knowing the password or going to Hogsmeade after the Sirius Black incident. I smiled, seeing Venus swoop in and drop a letter on my lap. I pushed some of my bacon to the side for her to eat while I tore the envelope open.

Rosalie looked over my shoulder as we both read Hagrid's messy writing:

Rosalie and Alice,

I was hoping you two would join me for tea at six today. I'll come get you two from the castle. **WAIT FOR ME IN THE ENTRANCE HALL. YOU'RE NOT ALLOWED OUT ON YOUR OWN.**

Hagrid

Rosalie looked over at me, a grin on her face. "He probably wants to hear all about Sirius Black!" she said excitedly, having already told everyone else in the school about it.

At six that night, the two of us were waiting, watching as Hagrid's burley figure walked up to us, giving us a smile. Rose and I followed him out of the castle and across the grounds, approaching his hut. I could hear Fang howling inside, and as soon as the door was opened, he ran up to me, licking at my hand, causing Rose to start giggling.

I looked off to the side, seeing Buckbeak sitting on a blanket, eating some kind of dead animal. It took everything in me not to show my repulsion at the sight. I saw an ugly brown suit hanging on the wall, complete with an equally ugly purple tie.

"Hagrid, what's that?" I asked, pointing to the clothing.

"It's what I'm wearin' fer Buckbeak's case. That's this Friday. We're goin' inter London an' goin' up against the Committee fer the Disposal of Magical Creatures."

I looked over at Rose and saw the guilt I was feeling echoed on her face. We had promised Hagrid we'd help…and we hadn't. I'd had Quidditch, but Hagrid was my friend, and I'd let him down. "Hagrid, I'm so sorry. I promised I'd help and I didn't," I said, feeling ashamed of myself.

"Don't worry 'bout it," he said, waving it off. "I seen you practicing fer Quidditch almost e'ery night. Besides, Bella's been helping me. Found me some good stuff. Should help with the case." I saw Hagrid's shoulders sag as he let out a big sigh. "That's not what I wanted ter talk to yous about."

Rose and I both looked up at him curiously. "What did you want to talk to us about?" she asked, her heroic tale about Sirius Black gone from her mind.

"It's Bella. An' you two not talkin' to her. First it was the broom and then her cat—"

"Ate Scabbers!" Rosalie protested angrily.

"Her cat acted like a cat. You can't blame her fer that."

"I wouldn't if she didn't go around acting like that demon cat is some kind of saint. But she goes around defending what it did!" Rose snapped, her face turning a light shade of red.

"Ah, people can be a bit stupid when it comes to their pets," Hagrid said, looking over at Buckbeak with a sad smile. "But she's been feelin' lonely. I thought you two valued her friendship with her more," he said.

The guilt overtook me once again and I sighed, looking down at my feet. Hagrid was right. Bella was more important than a stupid broom or Rosalie's dead rat—who was already digested by now.

Rose and I both nodded, promising we'd make things right with Bella. Hagrid then turned the topic over to Quidditch, probably able to tell we both felt genuinely bad about how we'd been treating Bella. At nine, he walked us back up to the castle, where we headed up to the common room, letting Dean in as well.

Everyone was crowded around the notice board, reading something. I assumed it was for Hogsmeade, and sighed when Rose ran over to me, telling me exactly what I had feared. "Hogsmeade this weekend!" she said excitedly. "You going to come?" she asked.

I let out a sigh. "I don't know," I admitted. "You're going to spend the whole time with Oliver, meaning I'm going to be left alone."

"So meet up with Edward and Bella," she suggested. "And…maybe you could tell Bella I'm sorry," she added, her cheeks pink.

I nodded my head. "Well, alright. But I'm not going to stay long," I added, feeling a bit nervous ever since Sirius Black had broken into the castle. For all I knew, he was waiting around for me in the village just to finish me off.

xxxxxx

That Saturday, I waved goodbye to Rose as she left for Hogsmeade, walking out of the common room with Oliver, the backs of their hands touching. I knew they wouldn't start holding hands until they were well away from her brothers.

Once everyone was gone, I slipped my invisibility cloak on and headed through the halls, all the way down to where the statue of the one-eyes witch. Murmured the incantation, I watched as the passageway revealed itself, quickly slipping inside, then wiping the Marauder's Map and shoving it into my pocket.

Once I was through the passage and inside Hogsmeade, I headed outside, looking around for Bella and Edward. I didn't see them anywhere, so I made my way up to the Shrieking Shack where I spotted them staring at the building.

"…it's supposed to be the scariest building in England," Bella was saying, looking over at Edward.

"I know," he said. "You already said that."

"Did I? I'm sorry. It's just weird not being here with Alice and Rose," she whispered sadly before shivering. Once again, I felt guilty. I could tell she missed us. And I missed her. She was one of my best friends, and I turned my back on her because of some stupid fight between her and Rosalie.

"Did you want to go get a drink at the Three Broomsticks and warm up?" Edward asked, putting an arm around her. I saw Bella nod her head, and the two of them turned around, heading back down the path.

I snuck up behind them, tapping Edward's shoulder. "Boo," I whispered, laughing.

"Hello?" he called.

"Over here," I teased, pulling the head of my cloak down.

"Alice!" Bella said, pulling me into a hug. "Oh Alice, I'm so glad to see you."

"I'm glad to see you too, Bella. And I'm sorry I've been a horrible friend," I added. "Rosalie is too. Crookshanks was acting like any other cat would. Please tell me you forgive up?" I asked, placing my hands on her shoulders.

Bella nodded her head, throwing her arms around my neck. "Of course I do. You're one of my best friends. I could never stay mad at you," she said, pulling her arms off, her wrist brushing my neck lightly.

"_So!" a voice yelled from the intersection of four different corridors. "You thought it would be amusing to turn a corridor into a swamp!" Professor Umbridge said, her beady eyes fixed on Fred, George, and Emmett, all who were standing in front of her. They all had an amused look on their faces, clearly not worried about what she was going to do to them._

"_Yeah, pretty much," Fred said._

_Umbridge looked outraged. Filtch came running in, a paper in his hand. "I've got it, ma'am," he said. "Oh please let me do this. I've been waiting years for this," he said, turning his gaze to the three boys._

_I looked next to me at Rosalie, who had a look on her face that was best described as a mixture of worry and excitement._

"_You three are about to discover what the meaning of pain is!" she snarled, taking a step towards them._

"_You know what, I don't think we are," George said._

"_Excuse me?" Umbridge shouted._

"_I think we've outgrown school, don't you agree, Emmett?" Fred asked. _

"_That I do," Emmett said. "George?" he asked, turning to his best friend, who nodded in agreement. The three of them lifted their wands in the air. "Accio broom!" they all shouted at once, and three brooms came crashing through the wall. All three of them jumped on their respective brooms, flying into the air and looking down at everyone while Umbridge was shouted at the top of her lungs, her face growing redder by the moment._

_The three of them high-fived before flying around above us, then paused. "1605 Diagon Alley!" Fred yelled. "Weasley, Weasley, and Cullen Joke Emporium. We give alf off to students who promise to use our products to get rid of this toad!" he laughed, jerking a thumb towards Umbridge._

_Emmett turned, looking at Peeves who was just floating in the air, watching the scene unfold before him. "Give her hell for us, Peeves," he said. Peeves, who had never so much as listened to a student, gave Emmett a sort of salute as he flew away, cackling as he zoomed back into the castle._

"Alice. Alice!" Bella yelled, shaking me.

"Huh?" I asked, looking around. The castle had faded, and I was back standing in the show, Bella and Edward looking at me.

"What did you see?" Edward asked curiously. It was like I was some movie he was watching, though it made no sense and scenes just randomly came and went.

"Your brother was there," I said, looking at him. "And the twins too. They made a swamp or something. Then they just hopped on their brooms and left after telling Peeves to wreak havoc," I said, not even sure what the hell the vision had meant. "I don't know how old we were—maybe fourth or fifth year," I said.

"But what does it mean?" Bella asked.

"How am I supposed to know," I muttered, pulling the hood back over my head as we headed towards the Three Broomsticks, Bella still going on about what the vision could mean. "Bella, just drop it," I said as we reached the table. "It's just something stupid that's going to happen in the future. No sense analyzing it. It's not like we can stop it," I muttered as Edward got up to go get the three of us Butterbeers.

Bella and I looked over towards the corner, seeing Rosalie sitting at the table with Oliver Wood. Though they seemed to be sharing a seat…and saliva. Oliver had his hands all over her, though Rosalie didn't seem to be complaining. They were joined at the lips, not even coming up for air.

"Whoa," Edward said as he spotted them, sitting back down. "I though she fancied my brother," he muttered.

"She does," I said. "But you can't expect her to wait around for him to pull his head out of the ground and realize he's in love with her. She's allowed to date," I said.

"Yeah well, I always thought she'd wait for my brother," he muttered as the door opened and Emmett walked in, heading over to our table.

"Hey Bella, Edward, Alice," he said quietly. What are you all star—" He stopped talking, catching sight of Rosalie and Oliver. "What the hell is she doing?" he snarled.

"Snogging her boyfriend," Bella said, shrugging her shoulders.

"She's a kid!" he snapped. "She's not old enough to be doing that. I'll get Fred and George. They'll put a stop to this," he said, storming out of the restaurant.

"What was that about?" I asked, holding my mug of Butterbeer under my cloak.

"He fancies her. Told me so. He wanted to ask her out, but he's too afraid of what Fred and George would do to him if they found out," he said.

I shook my head, even though none of them could see. I knew Rose and Emmett would end up together. I'd seen it. Though that was something I was keeping to myself. They could get together on their own without me helping them along.

Bella, Edward, and I eventually headed back to school, parting while I snuck back in. Unfortunately, as I was heading back to Gryffindor tower, Snape seemed to be waiting for me. I swear, it was like he could sense where I was at all times.

"My office," he said, beckoning for me to follow him. I let out a sigh, wondering what I had done to land myself in trouble with him now. As far as he knew, I'd been in school the whole day.

I walked into his office, taking a seat and looking at him behind his desk. "So, do the rules not apply to the famous Alice Brandon?" he sneered. "I guess something as silly as a permission form doesn't deter you."

"Sir?" I asked.

"Oh you are so like your father, Miss Brandon. Thinking rules don't apply to you. Arrogant, strutting around the school like he owned the place."

"My father did not strut," I replied. "I know the truth. My father saved your life, and you can't stand that, knowing he's the reason you're alive."

An ugly look crept onto Snape's face. "Let me enlighten you, Miss Brandon. I would hate for you to go around with false information about your father. He and his friends played a nasty trick that, had your father not backed out at the last moment, would have resulted in my death and trouble for him. So he was doing it to save his own skin, not mine. Besides, I did not call you in here to discuss your arrogant and big-headed father."

"What did you call me in here to discuss?" I said in a thin voice.

"Mr. Malfoy has just been to see me, stating he spotted Mr. Cullen in the Three Broomsticks buying three drinks, though he was only with Ms. Swan. Can you explain to me why that would be?"

"Well maybe Edward was very—"

"Can you also tell me why he saw _your hand floating in mid-air?_" he snapped.

"Myabe Malfoy's having hallucin—"

"Mr. Malfoy is not having hallucinations! No part of you is to be in Hogsmeade, not even an eyelash. Turn out your pockets," he said.

Reluctantly, I turned over the Marauder's map, thankful that I had remembered to wipe it clean. Snape looked at it before turning to me. "What is this?"

"Just a spare bit of parchment," I fibbed.

"But such an old piece? Why bother carrying it around? How about I just get rid of it…" he said, moving towards the fire.

"No!" I practically yelled.

A smirk crept onto Snape's face. He had me and he knew it. "So it's not just a piece of parchment." He pointed his wand at it. "Reveal yourself," he said. Nothing. "Professor Severus Snape, master of this school, commands you to reveal yourself.

I looked over, seeing ink appearing on the map. Shoot. Snape was going to find out what it was and expel me on the spot. I read over his shoulder, watching with horror at what the words said:

_Mr. Moony presents his compliments to Professor Snape, and begs him to keep his abnormally large nose out of other people's business._

**Mr. Prongs agrees with Mr. Moony and would like to add that Professor Snape is an ugly git.**

**Mr. Padfoot would like to register his astonishment that an idiot like that ever became a professor.**

_**Mr. Wormtail bids Professor Snape a good day and advises him to wash his hair, the slimeball.**_

I stood there and waited for Snape to start yelling or hit me or something. To my surprise, he grabbed me by the sleeve, dragging me out of his office and into Lupin's office instead.

"Severus? Alice? To what do I owe this visit?" Lupin asked, looking up from the papers he was grading.

"I just asked Miss Brandon to empty her pockets. She had this," he said, tossing the paper to him. Lupin looked it over, a slightly amused look on his face. "This is clearly full of dark magic. Since this is your area of expertise, I thought I'd bring this to you," he said.

"Dark magic?" Lupin asked. "I don't think so. Looks like a Zonko product to me. It would probably start insulting me as well if I were to ask it a question. I'm sure it's just from a joke shop—"

"Really? Don't you think she got it _directly from the manufacturers?"_

I had no idea what Snape was talking about. Lupin didn't appear to either. "From this Mr. Wormtail? I doubt it. Alice do you know any of these men?" I shook my head quickly. "Well, that settles it. Severus, if you would please excuse us," he said, gesturing towards the door. Snape gave Lupin a deadly look before strolling back to his own office.

Lupin turned back to me and I bit my lip. "Professor—"

"Alice, I don't want to hear excuses. I'm just stunned you didn't turn this in when you found it. Did you ever think this map could lead Sirius Black to you? Yes, I know it's a map."

I looked at him, slightly shocked. "Why did Snape think I might have gotten it from the guys who made it?" I asked.

"Because…" Lupin hesitated for a moment. "Because they would find it amusing to lure you out of school," he said.

"Do you know them?" I asked, an eyebrow raised.

"Our paths have crossed. Now, I'm not going to turn you in. But I'm not giving you this map back, either," he said. "Now, back to your common room," he said.

I sighed, leaving his office and heading back up to the common room. I walked in, seeing Bella in tears with Edward's arm wrapped around her. I walked over to her at the same time that Rosalie did.

"Oh, Bella. I'm so sorry. Please don't cry because of me!" she said, throwing her arms around her.

Bella shook her head, looking up at me. "That's not why I'm crying," she said. "It's Hagrid. He lost the trial. They're going to execute Buckbeak."


	35. An Update

**Author's Note**

**Hey guys. A new chapter will be up this week sometime. I'm almost finished it. But I wanted to share this with you first. One of my lovely readers, BlackCookieWolf, made a trailer for my story. You should all check it out:**

.com/watch?v=CnGoxgmXt5s


	36. Victory

Chapter 31: Victory

I looked at her, shocked. "What?" I asked in a whisper.

Bella held out a piece of parchment to me. I took it, looking it over. "He sent me this," she said quietly.

_Bella,  
We lost. I'm allowed to bring him back to Hogwarts. Execution date to be fixed. Beaky has enjoyed London. I won't forget all the help you gave us.  
Hagrid_

There were giant tear-marks all over the parchment from Hagrid's tears. I felt awful. We hadn't helped Hagrid once, and now Buckbeak was going to be put to death.

"They can't do this," I said quietly. "Buckbeak isn't dangerous!"

Bella shook her head. "It doesn't matter. The committee was scared into it. Lucius Malfoy got up, and you know what he's like. There'll be an appeal, though I don't see how it'll be any different. Things won't change any."

"Yes they will," Rosalie said, looking at Bella. "You're not going to have to do all the research alone this time. I'll help," she said.

Edward nodded his head in agreement. "Me too. You won't have to do this all by yourself," he promised.

Bella looked at the two of them, tears welling in her eyes. "Oh, Rose!" she said, throwing her arms around Rosalie. Edward and I stood back, glad to see our two friends had finally made up. "And I'm really sorry about Scabbers," she added.

Rosalie shrugged her shoulders. "It's okay. He was an old rat, anyways. And he didn't do anything. Who knows, maybe Mum and Dad will get me an owl now," she said optimistically.

The next day, the four of us, all finally speaking again, headed down to Care of magical Creatures, where we found Hagrid in a sad state. He let the class do what they wanted so the five of us could talk, class being the only time we were able to see him with all the new security measures in place.

"It's all me fault," he sighed. "Got tongue tied. I kept droppin' me notes an fergetting all the stuff yeh looked up for me, Bella," he said, looking over at her. "An' then Lucius Malfoy gets up there an' the Committee did exactly as he wanted." He reached into his pocket, pulling out his handkerchief and blew his nose into it.

"Don't give up, Hagrid," Rosalie said kindly, placing a hand on his arm as he dismissed the class. "There's still the appeal."

"S'no use. Lucius Malfoy owns them Committee members. I'm jus' going to make sure Beaky's last days are enjoyable."

Hagrid turned, sobbing as he walked back into his cabin.

"Listen to him blubber!" came a cold voice. The four of us turned, seeing Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle standing in front of us. "Have you even seen anything so pathetic? How are we expected to take him seriously as our teacher?" he sneered.

I saw Edward and Rosalie move towards him, but Bella beat him here, drawing her wand and pointing it at his neck. "Don't you _dare_ call Hagrid pathetic! You foul—you evil—"

"Bella, don't do it," Edward said, grabbing her arm. "He's not worth it."

"Get off me, Edward!" she practically yelled, causing him to take a few steps back. She looked at Malfoy, shaking her head. "He's right, you're not worth it." She lowered her wand, placing it back in her bag. Malfoy smirked at her, snickering before Bella turned around and punched him in the nose.

The three of us stared at her as Malfoy fell to the ground. Crabbe and Goyle helped him up, and the three of them headed into the castle, muttering murderously under their breath.

"Bella!" Edward exclaimed, his voice both shocked and impressed. "That was brilliant!"

She ignored him, turning to me instead. "Oh Alice, you have to beat him in the Quidditch final. You just have to, because I won't be able to bear it if Slytherin wins."

"Come on," Rosalie said, taking her arm. "We're due in Divination soon," she said, staring up at Bella with admiration. After all, she did the one thing all of us had dreamed of doing.

"It's the quiet ones," Edward whispered to me as we headed up the stairs to Professor Trelawney's room. "You never suspect them."

I shook my head as we ascended the ladder to Professor Trelawney's room, joining Rosalie at a small table next to the one Edward and Bella were seated at. Rosalie stared at the crystal ball sitting on the table. "I thought we were still supposed to be doing palmistry for another week," she said.

"Don't complain. I was getting sick of her practically fainting every time she looked at my hand," I said, rolling my eyes. Rosalie smiled, nodding in agreement.

"Good day," came Professor Trelawney's voice as she descended the stairs from her office, looking over all of us. "I decided to introduce the orb a little earlier. The fates have informed me that your examination in June will concern reading the orb, and I wanted to give you as much practice as possible," she said.

I heard Bella snort at the next table. "That fates?" she said, not bothering to lower her voice. "Who sets the exam? She does! What an _amazing_ prediction," she said sarcastically. Edward, Rose, and I could barely contain our laughter.

Professor Trelawney ignored her and continued on. "Crystal gazing is incredibly difficult. I don't expect many of you to see anything, though if we're lucky, some of you may See before the class ends."

Rosalie and I stared at the crystal ball, seeing nothing. "This is stupid," I sighed. "I mean, do you even see anything?" I asked.

"Yeah. Someone spilled their candle on the table. I can see the burn mark," she said, sighing and letting her hair drop in her face.

"This is pointless. I could be doing so many more important things," I said, picking at my fingernail polish. "So how are things with you and Oliver going?" I asked, completely ignoring the crystal ball sitting on the table.

Rosalie shrugged. "I don't know. He's sweet and everything, but I don't think we're the best match. He keeps talking about what's going to happen when he graduates. But I'm still only 13. I'm not thinking long term. I'm only thinking about what's going to happen next week," she said.

"So break up with him?" I suggested. "If you're not happy with him, then end things."

Rosalie nodded. "I think that would be best. But I'll do it after the cup. I don't want to screw everything up for the team by breaking his heart right before the big match," she said, reaching over and squeezing my hand.

"_Beautiful, best friend Alice!" came a melodious voice, waking me from my sleep. I let out a sigh, rolling over in bed and looked up at Rosalie's face, her blonde curls covering my eyes._

"_Rose, what do you want?" I sighed, sitting up in my bed, dressed in a large tee shirt of Jasper's. _

"_Look, you've been bummed ever since Jasper and Emmett left last night. I know you miss Jasper, but…"_

"_No, that's not it," I whispered, pulling my knees to my chest. "I'm kind of glad he went home, to be honest," I admitted. _

"_Glad? But, he's your boyfriend. You love him. What happened?" she asked, taking a seat on the edge of my bed. _

_I shook my head. "I can't tell you. You're going to laugh at me."_

_Rosalie sighed. "I'm not going to laugh, I promise. Just tell me why you wanted Jasper to leave after you spent the last two months whining about missing him."_

_I sighed. "Well, we managed to find the room we used for DA practices last year—the room of whatever you want it to be or whatever it's called. And Jasper managed to turn it into this romantic bedroom. It was really very sweet. And, well, we were going to do it."_

_Rosalie's face went red. "Oh, Alice, I don't want to hear about your sex life."_

_I sighed, shaking my head. "No, that's not what this is about. We'd never been intimate before. This was going to be our first time. But as soon as he touched me, I passed out and went into another vision. A long one. He said I was out for almost half an hour. And then, well, we got in a fight about it."_

"_Why? I mean, it's not like you did it on purpose."_

"_I know I didn't, But he kept saying how he didn't know being with me required this much work and he didn't know if it was even worth it. So he slept on the floor and we didn't even speak when he left the next morning."_

"_What are you going to do?" she asked, looking at me._

"_I don't know, Rose. I just need to think about if Jasper's really worth fighting for."_

"Alice!" Rosalie hissed. "You had another flash thing, didn't you?" she asked as I tried processing what had happened. I didn't like seeing these flashes about Jasper and I fighting. I was starting to sense that there was a good possibility we were going to date at one point. I just didn't know when, and I didn't know if it would last. I didn't know how to explain that to Rosalie.

"Nothing," I said quietly as there was a slam. Both of us turned around to see Bella standing up, shoving her book into her overstuffed bag.

"Fine!" she yelled. "Fine! I give up. I'm leaving!" And, after hitting Edward with her bag, she stormed down the stairs and out of the room, everyone staring after her.

"Ooh, Professor," came Lavender Brown's voice. "You were right. Remember what you said before? 'Around Easter, one of us will leave us forever.' You meant Bella, didn't you?" she asked.

"Yes, I did. I knew Miss Swan didn't have what it takes, but I hoped I was mistaken. The Inner Eye can be a burden," she said with a dramatic sigh as Edward joined us at our table.

"First Malfoy then Trelawney—we'll be lucky if she doesn't murder someone by tonight," he said quietly, looking at the two of us.

By the time Easter came, we were all welcoming the break. Unfortunately, it wasn't as much of a break as we wanted. All of our professors gave us lots of work over the holidays, plus exams were coming soon. Everyone seemed to be feeling the stress, though no one more than Bella. She was always the first to arrive in the common room and the last to leave—most likely because she was taking more subjects than anyone else.

Edward and Rosalie, when not doing work, were looking up things for Buckbeak's appeal now that Bella had no time. They each had a stack of books and were pouring over them, looking for past cases Hagrid could use in his defense.

I had to work everything around Quidditch. Oliver had us practicing nightly in addition to hounding me everywhere I went. The match was the Saturday after holidays ended. And, as Wood reminded us before, during, and after every practice, Slytherin was ahead by two hundred points, so we needed to win by more than that to win the cup.

Which meant winning the match depended on me catching the snitch at the right time. Just what I needed, more pressure.

By the time holidays ended, the only thing everyone in the school could think about was the match, and the tension between Gryffindor and Slytherin was at its highest. Every day, there was at least one incident of a Slytherin-Gryffindor scuffle in the corridors.

That also meant I was a prime target. Everywhere I went, someone was trying to trip me. Crabbe and Goyle seemed to be stalking me, though they never got within a foot of me—Oliver had ordered the entire Gryffindor house to act as my bodyguards. They had all enthusiastically risen to the cause.

Especially Jasper.

The two of us had barely spoken since the kiss. Even at practice, we avoided each other. I assumed he had just been caught up in the moment and kissed me. After all, it had been a big win. And his behavior showed that—he was embarrassed he kissed me. Not that I blamed him. Why wouldn't he be embarrassed? I was a freak, after all.

The night before the game, Wood sat us in the locker room after practice. He looked at us all and opened his mouth before closing it, shaking his head. "Get to bed," he finally said before walking out of the room, muttering to himself about different plays for tomorrow.

I grabbed my things, heading up to the common room with Angelina when someone grabbed a hold of my arm. I turned, seeing Jasper standing there. "Can I talk to you for a moment?" he asked.

I nodded to Angelina to go up without me before walking beside Jasper, the two of us heading up more slowly than the others. "What is it?" I asked quietly, looking at the ground instead of up at him.

"I wanted to apologize. For messing things up between you and Harry," he said.

I let out a sigh. "Don't be. It wasn't working out anyways. We weren't right for each other. I should have broken up with him before that," I admitted. I didn't know why, but I could talk to Jasper about things like this.

"Oh, well, I still feel bad. I shouldn't have kissed you like that. I mean, not that it wasn't nice," he added. "It was very nice," he said quietly.

I smiled a little. "Yes, it was nice," I said before pausing, grabbing his arm to stop him. He looked down at him. "Jasper, what does this mean? What are we supposed to do now?"

He bit his lip, looking down at me. "I don't know," he admitted. "I like you. I really do. But, I don't know. You're too young for me, still. I think we should stay friends for now. Good friends. May I write you this summer?" he asked.

I smiled, nodding my head. "Yes, I would like that, actually," I admitted. Though my heart ached a bit when he said I was too young still. Did that mean at some point I wouldn't be too young for him? I hoped so.

He put an arm around my shoulders, walking me back upstairs. We paused outside the portrait and he looked down at me. "Just don't get another boyfriend now, or I might have to break you two up," he joked, kissing the top of my head before giving the password and heading into the common room.

I walked in, taking a seat next to Rosalie, who was looking over at Emmett. "Sometimes, I hate him so much," she sighed.

I gave her a look. "Oh would you stop it," I sighed. "He fancies you."

She snapped her head, staring at me. "What?"

"Edward told me so. He got very jealous when he saw you snogging Oliver. But you are not to do anything until you end things with Wood," I said, giving her a look.

Rosalie nodded her head. "I know," she said. "I promise not to." She took in my anxious appearance. "Alice, relax. You'll be fine tomorrow. You have a Firebolt, after all."

"Yeah, I know," I said, my stomach churning. Everyone else seemed to be feeling the same way I was. Emmett, Fred, and George were all joking loudly, their nerves making them more outgoing than usual. Jasper was sitting by the fire, staring into it. Oliver was pacing back and forth, muttering to himself. When he finally ordered us to bed, I was actually relieved.

The next morning, the team and I entered the Great Hall to applause, along with a few boos from the Slytherin table. I looked over, noticing Malfoy looking paler than normal.

I stared at the eggs on my plate, not wanting to eat them. I was sure I'd throw them right back up. Wood ran off without eating a bite, wanting to get to the pitch early to check the conditions. The rest of us left together, everyone applauding us again. Jasper grabbed my hand, squeezing it lightly.

_I was finishing making the bed in Mrs. Weasley's room, placing the pillows neatly on the bed. There was a cough behind me and I turned towards the noise, seeing Jasper standing there._

"_Hey," he said quietly, walking into the room with a basket of laundry._

_My face went red as I saw him. "Hey," I whispered, looking at the ground. "Haven't seen you since the funeral," I murmured quietly. _

_Jasper walked over to me, placing the basket on the bed. "You know, I never gave you a birthday gift," he said. With a glove on his hand, he tilted my face up to his, pressing his lips against mine. The normal spark I felt when we kissed was there, and I closed my eyes, enjoying the moment. _

_He wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling me close. I didn't stop him, placing my hands on his shoulders. He started backing me towards the bed until my legs were pressed against the edge of it when we heard a throat clear._

_I pulled away and both of us looked over at the door, seeing Edward. "Mrs. Weasley wants you downstairs, Alice. Said something about the cake," he said. I nodded my head, walking away from Jasper without a second glance._

"Whoa, easy there," Jasper said, catching me as I almost fell. "You okay? You seemed to zone out there for a bit."

"I'm fine," I said, knowing I'd have to tell him eventually what was happening. Not yet. He wasn't ready to hear everything. Eventually, but not yet.

The seven of us sat in the locker room, everyone too tense to say anything. It what seemed like a minute, Wood lead us onto the pitch, all of us clutching our brooms. There was so much noise coming from the crowds, both cheers and boos. Most of the crowd was dressed in scarlet, with a section all in green.

"And here are the Gryffindors!" came Lee's voice. "Brandon, Johnson, Cullen, Whitlock, Weasley, Weasley, and Wood!" he said, the crowd cheering."Widely acknowledged as the best team Hogwarts has seen in a few years—" he started, but was met by boos from the Slytherins. "And here come the Slytherins, let by Captain Marcus Flint. He seems to be going for size rather than skill." More boos.

Though Lee was right. With the exception of Malfoy, every Slytherin player was enormous. "Captains, shake hands!" came Madam Hooch's voice. Wood and Flint took each other's hand, both seemingly trying to break the other's fingers. "Mount your brooms. Three…two…one…" then the whistle.

I pushed off the ground, flying into the air. I took one look around before flying off, Malfoy following me closely.

"Gryffindor in possession, Jasper Whitlock with the Quaffle," Lee said. I paid close attention to his commentary of the game. I had to wait to catch the snitch until we were more than fifty points ahead. And I had to make sure Malfoy didn't catch it, too.

"He's heading straight for the Slytherin goal posts—looking good—NO! Quaffle intercepted by Warrington of Slytherin, now heading back towards the Gryffindor goal posts—ooh, nice Bludget hit by George Weasley—Angelina Johnson in possession—SHE SCORES! TEN-ZERO GRYFFINDOR!" he shouted.

I smiled, giving her a thumbs up. She punched the air victoriously—

"OUCH!"

Angelina nearly fell off her broom as Flint flew straight into her. "Sorry!" he said to a mass of boos. "Didn't see her," he said, smirking.

A second later, Fred threw his Beater's club at the back of Flint' head.

"Enough!" Madam Hooch shrieked. "Penalty shot to Gryffindor for an unprovoked attack on their Chaser. Penalty shot to Slytherin for deliberate harm to _their_ Chaser!"

"Oh come on!" Fred yelled, but Madam Hooch blew her whistle in his face.

Emmett flew forward to take the shot, scoring easily. Wood then blocked Slytherin's shot. We were up, twenty-zero. I smiled, flying around with Malfoy still on my tail.

Jasper flew up the field with the Quaffle, which was stolen by Slytherin, then stolen again by Emmett. "Cullen with possession of the Quaffle, heading towa—THAT WAS DELIBERATE!"

Montague had swerved in front of Emmett and grabbed his head, causing him to drop the Quaffle. Madam Hooch blew her whistle, awarding Gryffindor another penalty. Emmett scored easily.

"THIRTY-ZERO! TAKE THAT YOU LOUSY, CHEATING—"

"Jordan, if you cannot comment in an unbiased way—"

"I'm just telling it how it is, Professor!"

I felt my heart skip a beat as I saw the snitch, floating by the one Gryffinor goal post. But I couldn't catch it yet, we were only thirty points ahead. Instead, I flew in the other direction so Malfoy wouldn't see it.

I felt a gust of wind as a Bludger sailed past my right ear, then the same on my left. I could sense the Slytherin Beaters flying on either side of me, ready to strike me down.

I flew straight up, hearing a crunching sound as they collided with one another. I did a small victory spin, grinning. It would take more than that to beat the Firebolt.

Angelina had the Quaffle and was streaking up the pitch with Flint following her closely. "Poke him in the eye," Lee said. "It was a joke, Professor. Oh no, Flint in possession. Come on, Wood, save—"

There was a cheer from the Slytherins as Flint scored. Lee swore so loudly that Professor McGonagall had to tug the microphone away from him.

"Sorry, Professor. Won't happen again. Gryffindor leading thirty to ten and in possession."

This was easily the dirtiest game I had ever seen. Slytherin, furious that we had taken an early lead, was using any method to get the Quaffle. Bole hit Jasper with his club and claimed he thought she was a Bludger, causing Emmett to elbow Bole in the nose in retaliation. Madam Hooch gave both teams penalties, and Wood blocked the shot, putting us ahead forty-ten.

Jasper scored. Fifty-ten. Fred and George followed him closly, keeping an eye out for any Slytherins who would want to take revenge on him. Derrick and Bole used their absence to aim both Bludgers at Wood, causing him to roll over in the air, completely winded.

I heard a gasp from the stands and looked down, seeing Rosalie looking up at Oliver with concern. Maybe she really did care about him? I'd think about that later. I had to keep my head in the game.

"YOU DO NOT ATTACK THE KEEPER UNLESS THE QUAFFLE IS WITHIN THE SCORING AREA!" Madam Hooch shouted. "Gryffindor penalty."

Jasper scored again. George aimed a Bludger at Warrington, causing him to drop the Quaffle. Emmett seized it and scored, putting us ahead seventy-ten.

We were more than fifty points ahead. If I got the snitch now, we would win the cup. Everyone in Gryffindor knew that—they were getting louder and louder after Emmett scored.

And then I saw it. The snitch was sparkling twenty feet above me. I put on a burst of speed and reached my hand out, but the Firebolt was slowing down.

I turned around and looked horrified at Malfoy. He'd grabbed the tail of my broom, holding me back. "You…you…" I gasped, too mad to form a sentence.

Malfoy smirked at me as the crowd booed him. He'd accomplished what he wanted—the snitch had disappeared. I wanted to hit him, to cause him as much pain as possible, but I couldn't reach him.

"Penalty!" Madam Hooch yelled. "Penalty to Gryffindor! I've never seen such tactics!"

"YOU CHEATING SCUM!" Lee was shouting, holding the microphone out of Professor McGonagall's reaching. "YOU FILTHY, CHEATING—"

Professor McGonagall didn't bother to tell Lee off for cursing. She was too busy shaking her finger and shouting at Malfoy herself.

Angelina took the penalty, but she was so mad, she missed. Our team was losing concentration, which only made the Slytherins happier.

"Slytherin in possession, Slytherin heading for the goal, Montague scores. Seventy-twenty to Gryffindor."

I was marking Malfoy so closely that our knees were touching. If he even breathed in the direction of the snitch, I would know.

"Jasper Whitlock with the Quaffle. Come on, Jasper. COME ON!"

I looked around, seeing every Slytherin player heading to the Slytherin goal. They were going to block Jasper's shot…

With a burst of speed, I sped toward them, watching them all scatter and giving Jasper a free shot, which he easily scored.

"HE SCORES! Gryffindor leads eighty-twenty."

And then I saw it. Malfoy was diving with a triumphant look on his face. He saw the snitch. I flattened against my broom handle, speeding off towards him. I ducked as a Bludger sailed past my ear. I was at his ankles, at his ear…

"Come on," I whispered, urging the broom forward. I reached my arm out, knocking Malfoy's out of the way. I grabbed it, tumbling to the ground. "Yes!" I laughed, holding the snitch in the air to the cheers from the Gryffindors.

Wood was the first one to get to me. He hopped off his broom when it was still in the air, pulling me to my feet and hugged me, sobbing. We were joined by the rest of the team, all pulling me into a big group hug.

"We did it!" Emmett shouted. "We won the cup!" I was lifted up into the air by him as everyone was shouting. Rosalie, Bella, and Edward were all running towards us, a look of excitement in their eyes. I saw McGonagall wiping her eyes on a large Gryffindor flag, all dignity lost.

I saw Wood lift Rosalie into the air and give her a kiss. Fred and George seemed to be too excited to even care while Emmett put me on his shoulders, walking over to Dumbledore, who was holding the cup.

And as a sobbing Wood passed me the cup, I wished there was a demetor around. I could have made the world's best patronus right then.


	37. He Will Rise Again

Chapter 32: He Will Rise Again

The excitement from Gryffindor finally winning the Quidditch Cup lasted all week. There seemed to be a party every night, hosted, of course, by Fred, George, and Emmett. Even the weather seemed to be celebrating with us. Each day was warmer and sunnier than the last, meaning all anyone wanted to do was lie on the grass by the lake and enjoy the day.

But we couldn't. June was here, which meant exams were coming up. Rosalie, Edward, and I spent almost every day in the common room, quizzing each other on different spells. Even Emmett, Jasper, and the Weasley twins were studying. They had O.W.L.s, or Ordinary Wizarding Levels coming up, which would help decide what they were going to do once they left school. Percy was preparing for his N.E.W.T.s, or Nastily Exhausting Wizarding Tests. He was hoping to enter the Ministry, so he needed top marks. He was becoming increasingly anxious, which was shown by him giving severe punishments to anyone who spoke above a whisper in the common room.

The only person who seemed to be more anxious than him was Bella. She was surrounded by books every day, and was refusing to speak to even us because she spent every waking moment studying.

We'd given up asking how she was in two classes at once, but when Edward saw her exam schedule, he couldn't help saying something:

Monday  
9 o'clock, Arithmancy  
9 o'clock, Transfiguration  
Lunch  
1 o'clock, Charms  
1 o'clock, Ancient Runes

"Um, Bella?" Edward said tentatively, not wanting her to snap at him like she did the other day when he asked to borrow a quill. "Are you sure you copied down these times right?"

"What?" she asked, looking down at the schedule. "Of course I have."

"Is there any point of asking how you're supposed to sit for two exams at once?" Rosalie asked with a sigh.

"No," Bella snapped. "Has anyone seen my Arithmancy textbook?" she asked, changing the subject.

"Yeah, I borrowed it for a bit of bedtime reading," Rosalie whispered sarcastically to me. We both looked up when we heard a rustle at the window, seeing Venus there. Edward ran over, opening the window so she could fly in.

He took the note from her as she settled on his shoulder. Venus loved all my friends almost as much as she loved me. They were all wonderful to her. "It's from Hagrid. They've set Buckbeak's appeal for the sixth."

"That's the day we finish our exams," Bella said, moving a pile of parchment, still looking for her book.

"They're coming here to do it," Edward read, his eyes scanning over the parchment. "Someone for the Ministry is coming—and an executioner," he said, his voice quiet.

"What?" Bella asked, looking up. "It sounds like they've already made their mind up."

"That's not fair!" Rosalie protested. "I've spent ages looking up all that stuff for him. They can't just ignore it!"

I bit my lip, feeling a knot form in my stomach. I was sure the Committee already had their mind made up. Draco, who had been quieter since Slytherin lost the Cup to us, had gotten some of his usual swagger back, boasting loudly that he was sure Buckbeak was going to be executed. It took all my self-control not to do what Bella did and punch him in the face.

The worst part about everything was that, due to the security measures, we couldn't even go see Hagrid. And I wasn't about to go and retrieve my invisibility cloak and let Snape catch me by that statue again.

xxxxxxxx

Exam week began and the castle became unnaturally quiet. Even the portraits seemed to be silent, sensing the anxiety that everyone was feeling. For us, Transfiguration was first for us. I thought I did alright. I could have done better, but I knew I didn't fail at least.

As we all walked out of the exam, everyone was comparing how they did, moaning about how difficult it had been, especially turning the teapot into a tortoise.

Bella managed to make an enemy out of everyone by complaining that hers looked more like a turtle than a tortoise.

"Mine still had a spout for a tail," Ron muttered, shaking his head.

"Do tortoises breathe steam?" Parvati asked, on the verge of tears.

The four of us made our way to the Great Hall for a quick lunch before the afternoon Charms exam. Rosalie glanced to the side, seeing Emmett and her brothers, who had just gotten out of their morning O.W.L. exams. She smiled at him and waved, her cheeks turning a light shade of pink.

"You're fooling around with him!" I accused in a whisper so Edward didn't hear. He still didn't know I told her that Emmett fancied her.

"Am not," she hissed. "I promise I'm not. I said I wouldn't until I broke things off with Oliver. And since I haven't had a chance to end things with him yet, I'm just saying hi to him," she said under my disapproving gaze.

I looked up as Percy and the rest of the seventh years walked in from their N.E.W.T. exams. "Well, there he is. Now's as good a time as any," I murmured, nodding my head in the direction of my Quidditch captain—well, now former Quidditch captain.

Rosalie bit her lip before rising to her feet. "I'll be back. Don't leave for Charms without me," she said. I nodded my head, watching her walk over to Oliver and take his hand, leading him out of the Great Hall.

"What's she up to? Doesn't she know we have Charms in less than 20 minutes?" Bella said, her voice taking on a hint of hysteria.

"Relax," I laughed, shaking my head. "She'll be back before we head to Charms." I didn't want to tell them what Rosalie was doing. That was her business, not theirs. If she wanted to tell them, she would. I was friends with Bella and Edward, but Rosalie was still my best friend. She was the one I could tell everything to, no matter what. She was the one who I could talk to about Jasper without feeling like I was being judged. Sometimes when I said things to Bella, I got that feeling. And Edward? Well, he was a guy. It was hard to talk about liking a guy to another guy.

Rosalie returned ten minutes later, her face red from crying. I saw Wood follow her in, not even looking in our direction. Instead, he took a seat next to some of his friends and stared down at his food, a dejected look in his eyes.

"It was the right thing to do," I whispered to Rose as she took a seat, taking her hand and squeezing it for comfort, not even caring that it would send me into a vision.

_Rosalie looked up at me from the bed in Shell Cottage, an ashamed look on her face. "Alice, I…I'm sorry," she whispered. "I should have told you back in August," she sighed. _

_I shook my head, taking a seat on the edge of the bed. "Don't. I understand why you did it. I would have never let you come if I knew. You're parents are going to know now, though," I said, lying down on the bed next to her, staring up at the ceiling._

"_They'll get over it. Besides, Bill said he'd let me tell them myself instead of him ratting me out. I think everything will be okay, though. I mean, I'm fine. I'm alive, not for lack of trying."_

_I looked over at her, tears in my eyes. "But what if something happened back there? It would all be my fault. This was all my idea. I never even bothered to think about what could happen to you guys."_

"_Alice, stop it. Me, Bella, and Edward knew the risk of going with you. We've known the risk since our first year when you led us down the trap door to get the Sorcerer's Stone. At this point, anything that happens to us is our own fault. We know the risk of going with you, and yet we all still come."_

"_But why? Why do you come with me when you know He could kill you at any moment to get to me?"_

"_Because we love you, Alice. You're my best friend in the entire world. I would do anything and risk anything for you. Nothing will ever change that. So if one day I died protecting you, it would be worth it. Because I know you're the Wizarding world's one chance at hope. It's you, Alice. You really are the Chosen One, even if you don't want to be."_

_I sighed, wiping my eyes. "I know I am. And I know what I have to do." I looked at her. "You have to stay here. You can't come with us anymore. Go be with your family. You need them. And I'm sure Emmett's missed you while you've been gone. And please, stay hidden," I begged, hugging her tightly. "You're my best friend, Rose. I would never be able to forgive myself if something happened to you because of me."_

_She smiled, kissing the top of my head. "I will, I promise. Emmett's house is safe. I'll stay there until it's safe to go back to my parent's house. And if I see Jasper, I'll tell him not to do anything stupid, like marry another girl," she laughed._

_I let out a humorless laugh. "Yes, because waiting to marry me is a great idea. Who knows if there'll be anything left to marry in the end."_

"Alice!" Rose was shouting, shaking me. "Alice, wake up. We have to go!"

My eyes focused back into place as I sat up from the floor. Rose, Edward, and Bella were around me, as well as Jasper, the Weasley twins, and Emmett.

"Is she okay?" Jasper was asking. "What happened? We saw her fall to the floor."

"I'm fine," I said, brushing my hair out of my eyes. "Just exam nerves, I guess," I said, trying to play it off.

Jasper looked at me suspiciously, knowing it was something more than that. "Really guys, I'm fine. But I won't be if you don't let me up to get to my Charms exam," I said, giving them a look.

Emmett took my arm and helped me to my feet while Fred and George dusted me off. "You didn't look okay. You just fell off the bench and onto the ground. It was weird."

I smiled, patting Emmett's shoulder. "Really, I'm fine. I promise. I have to go, though," I said as Rosalie pulled my arm. "I have to go!" I called back, waving as I rushed out of the Great Hall towards the Charms room.

"What did you see?" Rosalie asked in a whisper as the two of us jogged to keep up with Bella and Edward.

"You and me. I have no idea where we were—I think you mentioned your brother Bill, so we were at his house. And you lied to me about something, I think. And then I said something about you not coming with me anymore and me being the Chosen One, whatever that means," I said with a small shrug.

Rose gave me a strange look. "That doesn't make any sense."

"I know it doesn't. So let's not worry about it and worry about passing Charms instead," I said with a small laugh. "That's what's important right now, not some silly vision that doesn't mean anything."

Rose and I were partnered together for the exam. I outdid my Cheering Charm due to both nerves and the fact that my mind was distracted from the vision. Though, I suppose it was a good thing. Rosalie definitely needed cheering up after breaking up with Wood. She had to be led away for an hour to calm down afterwards before she could do the charm herself.

After the exam, Rose and I headed up to the common room, where Edward and Bella already were, preparing for Care of Magical Creatures, Potions, and Astronomy.

I took my favorite chair by the fire while Rosalie sat by my feet, both of us focusing on Potions more than anything else. I looked up as Emmett approached us, taking a seat next to Rose.

"So, I heard the littlest Weasley broke the heart of my former Quidditch captain," he teased, elbowing her in the side.

"Shut up, Emmett. Don't you have something to study for?" she asked, sticking her tongue out.

"Tomorrow's Divination. I can just make some stuff up and pass with full marks," he laughed, leaning back as he started playing with her hair.

Rosalie brushed his hand away with an irritated sigh. "Well, I have Potions. So go away and bother someone else," she snapped.

I looked down at her with wide eyes. Rose had never spoken to Emmett like that—the stress must have been getting to her.

Emmett looked slightly hurt before nodding and getting up. "Okay, I'm sorry Rosie. You'll be great, I promise," he said, patting the top of her head before walking over and taking a seat beside Jasper. The two of them kept looking over at us all night. I could feel Jasper's eyes on me, but I didn't dare look up. I knew I'd never be able to concentrate on anything but him if I did.

Care of Magical Creatures was probably the easiest exam any of us had ever taken. Hagrid, too preoccupied with the appeal, gave us all a flobberworm and said we just needed to keep it alive to pass. Since they did best if left on their own, it gave Edward, Rosalie, Bella, and I time to talk to Hagrid.

"Beaky's getting' depressed. Bin cooped up too long. Still, we'll know one way or another day after tomorrow," he sighed.

In the afternoon was potions. It didn't matter what I did, I couldn't get the potion to thicken. I saw Snape walk by with a smirk as he wrote down something that looked like a zero on his clipboard. Though I had always known I'd do terrible in that one.

Astronomy was at midnight on the tallest tower, which was easy. History of Magic was the next morning, where I regurgitated everything from my notes onto the exam. Herbology followed in the afternoon, which meant all that was left between school and summer was Defense Against the Dark Arts and Divination.

Defense Against the Dark Arts was in the morning. It was safe to say I had never had a more unusual exam. It was sort of like an obstacle course. There were Red Caps, grindylows, and hinkypunks, as well as a boggart at the end.

I passed the boggart with a grin, finding Professor Lupin standing there with a smile. "Excellent job, Alice. Full marks," he said, patting me on the back as I walked past him.

I moved off to the side, waiting for my three friends to finish. Edward did okay until the hinkypunk confused him. Rosalie tripped up with the Red Caps. And Bella…well, she ran out screaming.

"Bella!" Lupin said, his voice full of concern as he bent over her, trying to calm her down. "What is it? What happened?"

"It was P-P-Professor McGonagall. She said—said I'd failed everything!" she sobbed, pointing to the trunk which held the boggart.

After she had calmed down and stopped crying, she headed back into the castle with us, Edward teasing her the whole time.

I thought she was going to punch him like she did Malfoy, but stopped when we saw the Minister of Magic waiting at the top of the stairs outside Dumbledore's office.

"Alice!" he said, a grin on his face. "Good to see you, my dear. Just had an exam, I suppose?"

"Yes," I said, feeling a bit awkward as my friends hung in the back. It was a bit weird being on a fist name basis with the Minister of Magic, after all.

"Lovely day," he said, gazing outside at the lake before shaking him head. "Pity I can't enjoy it. I'm here on unpleasant business. The Committee for the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures needed a witness for the execution of a mad hippogriff. And because of the whole Black situation, I was needed her anyways."

"So, the appeal's already happened?" Rosalie asked, stepping forward timidly.

"No, it's scheduled for this afternoon," Fudge said, looking at Rose with a mixture of what seemed to be curiosity and awe. She seemed to have that effect on men, regardless of their age.

"Then you might not have to witness an execution!" she said, her arms crossed over her chest. "The hippogriff might get off."

Before Fudge could answer her, two other wizards joined him. One was so ancient, he could have been Dumbledore's father. The other was tall and built, fingering something on his belt. When I looked down, I saw it was an axe. Rosalie was about to say something, but Bella grabbed her arm, pulling her away.

"What'd you do that for?" she asked once we were in the Great Hall. "They already have the axe ready! This isn't justice, it's murder!"

"Rose, your dad works for the Ministry. You can't just say something like that to his boss. As long as Hagrid keeps a level head, they'll have no reason to execute Buckbeak," she said, though I knew she didn't believe that.

Of all people in the world, why di Buckbeak have to attack Malfoy? There was no way Hagrid could win this appeal, not with Lucius Malfoy owning half of the Ministry.

While we had Divination, Bella had Muggle Studies. We left her at the stairs, her heading to the left, us heading up to the North Tower. We arrived to see everyone sitting outside of the room, trying to fit as much studying in as possible. Rose took a seat beside her brother, Edward and I sitting beside her.

"Have you ever seen anything in the crystal ball?" Edward asked while Rose studied with her brother.

"Nope. I'm just going to make things up. Hopefully she buys it," I said with a sigh. Edward reach over, patting my hand. He started to say something, but his voice got quiet as my vision darkened.

"_You!" Edward roared as Rosalie and Emmett walked into the common room from the Yule Ball._

_Emmett sighed, letting go of her hand. "Look, I know she's your friend, Edwa—"_

"_I'm not talking to you!" he snapped. "I'm talking to her! How could you do this? My brother. MY brother. We're not supposed to date each other's siblings!" he shouted while Rosalie's face went bright red._

"_You don't have any say over who your brother dates, Edward! I don't see why you care, either," she snapped._

"_Because. It's not right. He's too old for you. And you're just going to dump him like you have every other boy at this school!"_

_Rosalie glared at him before slapping him across the face. Edward, Emmett, and I all stared at her. "How dare you, Edward. You're one of my best friends. I thought you'd be happy for me. Well, you can go to Hell for all I care. Don't speak to me again unless you plan on acting like an adult," she said, storming off without even saying goodnight to Emmett._

_I stared at Edward. In the matter of thirty minutes, he'd managed to get Bella and Rosalie to hate him. I moved over next to him, leaning my head on his shoulder. "Don't worry, Edward. I'm still here for you," I promised. After all, he was the only one who stuck by me in the beginning of the year. I wasn't going to desert him now._

"Alice!" Edward said, snapping his fingers in front of my face. "Alice, wake up!" he said, whispering so as not to get the attention of everyone.

I sat up, feeling a bit nauseous. That was new. The visions were getting worse. I was falling over, passing out—and I didn't know why.

"What did you see?" he whispered, putting an arm around me.

"You. And Rose. Her yelling at you and telling you to sod off," I said, looking up at him.

Edward bit his lip. "Why?" he asked. "What did I do?"

"Yelled at her about something," I said, the vision slipping away just as quickly as it had come. "I can't remember why. I'm sure it's nothing," I said, biting my lip.

Edward shrugged it off. "It was probably nothing. Me being an idiot or something like that," he said as Rosalie came down the ladder.

"How was it?" Edward asked, standing up as his name was called.

"Load of rubbish. Couldn't see a thing. Made up stuff about seeing the grim around you, and she seemed to buy it," she said with a shrug. "I'll see you back in the common room," she promised, ruffling my hair as she walked past me.

Edward came back after ten minutes, shaking his head. "Don't even ask. I'm sure I failed—she didn't buy a single thing I said," he said, heading in the direction of the common room. "I'll see you back there," he called.

"Alice Brandon," came Professor Trelawney's airy voice. I climbed up the stairs to the classroom, taking a seat in front of the crystal ball. "Good day, my dear. If you would, please gaze into the Orb and tell me what you see. Take your time," she said, smiling at me as she watched every more I made.

I looked into the glass ball and, as usual, saw nothing. I racked my brains, but all I could think of was Hagrid and Buckbeak, hoping he was doing okay in his appeal right now.

"What do you see?" Professor Trelawney asked, prompting me to start talking.

"Um, some kind of dark shape. It kind of looks like a hippogriff," I said, looking up at her.

"Indeed!" she said, leaning forward intently. "My dear, you may be seeing the outcome of Hagrid's appeal today. Tell me, does the hippogriff have its head?"

"Yes," I said firmly.

"Are you sure? Look harder. Does it seem to be writing on the ground? Any blood? Any crying Hagrid?"

"No," I said, wanting nothing more than to get out of here. "It's fine. It's flying away," I said, just wishing more than anything that it was true.

"Oh," she said, giving me a disappointed look. "A little disappointing, but I'm sure you did your best," she said.

Letting out a sigh of relief, I got up, picking up my bed and turned to head back to the common room

"_**It will happen tonight."**_

I turned around suddenly, seeing Professor Trelawney sitting in her chair. Except she didn't look normal. Her eyes had rolled back and she was gripping the armchair tightly, her entire body rigid. "Professor?" I asked,, taking a step towards her.

She didn't seem to hear me. I thought she was about to have a seizure—or maybe she was already having one? She looked up at me, her eyes out of focus as she spoke again in a voice that wasn't like hers.

"_**The Dark Lord lies alone and friendless, abandoned by his followers. His servant has been chained these twelve years. Tonight, before midnight…the servant will break free and set out to rejoin his master. The Dark Lord will rise again with the servant's aid, greater and more terrible than he ever was. Tonight…before midnight…the servant…will set out…to rejoin…his master…"**_

Professor Trelawney seemed to sit there for a moment before standing up, looking at me. "Oh, I'm sorry, my dear. I drifted off there for a moment." Her voice was normal again, and she didn't seem to realize what had just happened. "Is there something wrong?"

"You…you just told me the Dark Lord's going to rise again. That—that his servant's going to break free and rejoin him."

She looked at me, shocked. "That Dark Lord? My dear child, that's hardly something to joke about. Rise again indeed," she said, shaking her head.

"But you just said it!" I protested. "Just now. You said—"

"I think you must have dozed off as well," she said, cutting me off. "I would certainly not presume to predict anything as far-fetched as that," she said, ushering me out of the room.

I walked down the hall, thinking over what had just happened. Was that just her way to end the semester? Or…had that been a real prediction? I started running down the corridor, giving the password breathlessly as Professor Trelawney's words echoed in my head.

The common room was full of people laughing and enjoying the end of exams. Emmett and Jasper were laughing at a joke Fred had just told while Lee and George were playing a game of exploding snap.

I looked over, spotting Bella, Edward, and Rosalie sitting in the corner. "Guys," I panted, coming to a stop. "Professor Trelawney—" I fell silent at the sight of Rosalie's face.

"Buckbeak lost," she said, her face pale and voice trembling. "Hagrid just sent this," she said, handing me a note.

**Lost appeal. They're going to execute at sunset. Nothing you can do. Don't come down. I don't want you to see it.  
Hagrid**

The note was barely legible—Hagrid's hand had been shaking so much when he wrote it. "We have to go," I said. "We can't just leave him alone to deal with this."

"We can't," Edward said. "Especially not you, Alice. They'll never let us."

I sighed, taking a seat. "If only I had the invisibility cloak."

"Where is it?" Bella demanded, standing up. I told her about the statue of the one eyed witch and how it opened. "Stay here. I'm going to get it," she said walking away from us without another word.

Edward stared after her, his mouth wide open. "I don't know what's gotten into her lately. She punches Malfoy, walks out on Trelawney, and now she's getting the cloak so we can sneak out. Is this a nerd's way of being a rebel?" he asked as she came back, the silvery cloth in her hand.

"Let's go," she said, throwing the cloak over the four of us. We carefully headed out of the common room, making sure our feet were still hidden. Edward, who seemed to have grown a bit since first year, had to crouch a bit to keep hidden.

"This would be easier if you were shorter," Rosalie hissed, holding onto his arm tightly as we moved out of the castle and across the grounds towards Hagrid's cabin.

Bella reached a hand up, knocking a few times. "Hagrid, it's us!" she called. "We're under the cloak," she said as Hagrid opened the door. Edward pulled it off us as Hagrid ushered us inside.

"Yeh shouldn't 'ave come," he said, walking over to the kitchen and started preparing tea. "Want some?" he asked, his hands shaking as he dropped a cup.

"Hagrid, I'll get it," Bella said kindly, pushing him into a chair with a bit of force. She started preparing tea for all of us. "Where's Buckbeak?" she asked, looking around the small cabin.

"Outside. I thought it'd be best if he were outside, 'round the fresh air," he said, letting out a great sigh, his hands shaking.

Bella opened the cabinet for some sugar, letting out a small shriek, dropping another cup on the ground.

"What is it?" Edward asked, jumping to his feet.

"I…I don't believe it. Rosalie, it's Scabbers!" she laughed, holding up the rat by its tail. She handed the rat to Rose, who looked down at him with a smile.

"It's really him!" she laughed, holding him up to the light. He really looked awful. He was extremely thin with large patches of hair missing as he tried to desperately escape from Rosalie's hold on him. "It's okay, Scabbers! It's me! There's no cats here," Rose said, holding him tightly.

There was a branch snapping behind us. Hagrid turned, his face paling. "There're coming. You lot have to get outta here. You'll be in a lot of trouble if they catch yeh out here—'specially you, Alice," he said.

"No, we're staying," Bella said.

"No!" Hagrid said, pushing us out the back door and throwing the cloak over us. "They can't see you here. Just go," he said, shutting the door.

Bella led us away from the cabin, her face anxious. "Hurry. I don't want to hear them do it," she whispered, tears streaming down her face.

Rosalie stopped, causing us to pause in our tracks.

"Please Rosalie. Please…" she moaned.

"It's Scabbers. He won't stay still," she said. "Scabbers, stop it. It's Rosalie. Calm down," she muttered, trying to shove him in her pocket.

We moved forward a bit, Scabbers squeaking wildly. But it still wasn't enough to cover the sounds drifting from Hagrid's garden. There was a swish and a thud as the axe connected with something as Hagrid started wailing loudly.

"They did it," Bella whispered, throwing her arms around Edward's neck. "They actually did it."


	38. Betrayal

Chapter 33: Betrayal

I stood there, completely shocked. They had done it. They had actually done it. "Hagrid," I whispered, hearing him wailing in the distance. All I wanted to do was run back there and comfort him. He needed me more than anything.

"We can't," Rosalie said, taking my arm. "We'll get him in so much trouble if they knew we were down there visiting him," she said, her voice soft and her face white.

"How could they?" Bella sobbed, Edward's arms still around her. "How could they kill him?" she whispered, holding onto Edward's arm tightly.

"Come on," Edward said, steering us back towards the castle. "Let's get back inside." We started walking back towards the castle, moving slowly to keep ourselves hidden under the cloak. It was starting to get dark out now. I could still hear Scabbers squeaking wildly.

"OUCH!" Rosalie shrieked, dropping her rat. "He bit me!" she said, running out from under the cloak. "Come back here you stupid rat! Scabbers!" she yelled, running into the darkness. Edward sighed, running after her as Crookshanks came out of nowhere, running for Scabbers.

"Crookshanks, no!" Bella shouted, dropping the cloak on the ground and running after her cat. I followed behind all of them, trying to find Rosalie.

"Rose, come back!" I shouted, sprinting after her, though she was impossible to catch.

"Get away from him you stupid cat!" she was yelling. "Scabbers, come back! Ha!" she said as there was a thud, Rosalie having managed to grab Scabbers. She let out another shriek as Crookshanks landed on top of her, sinking his claws into her skin.

"Crookshanks, get off her!" Bella shouted as Edward tried to pry the cat off her as she shoved Scabbers into her pocket, the rat still squeaking like mad.

"He won't stay still," she said, looking up at me. "I don't know what's gotten into him. Scabbers, it's Rosalie. I'm not going to let the cat get you, I promise," she said over his squeaks of terror.

I looked up, gasping before letting out a scream. Its paws were pounding against the ground. I dove out of the way as the giant black dog leaped over me, scraping my back with its claws. It grabbed Rosalie's sleeve, pulling her with him.

"Rose!" Edward yelled, chasing after her. The dog made its way up to the giant tree, pulling the struggling Rosalie with him. He moved backwards into the roots of the tree, pulling Rosalie as easily as he would drag a teddy bear.

Rose's leg seemed to be caught on the tree. I watched with a horrified expression as it seemed to jerk for a moment before there was a loud crunch and a scream from Rosalie as her leg broke before she was completely gone.

"Alice, we have to get help" Bella said, looking at me, her face covered in tears.

"No," I said, shaking my head. "That thing's big enough to eat her. And her leg's broken. We have to save her!" I said, starting to run for where she had disappeared.

I was close to the tree when I felt the wind knocked out of me as a branch of the tree hit me square in the chest. Of course. The one tree it had to pick was the Whomping Willow.

I heard yells and screams from Bella and Edward, all three of us trying to get up to the place where Rosalie had disappeared.

"Alice!" Bella yelled, running towards me, her head bleeding from where the tree had hit her. She grabbed my hand tightly, dragging me with her as my vision went dark just as the tree swiped me across the cheek.

_I looked up, hearing the same loud music I had heard when I started the maze. My clothes were torn and my arm was bleeding. I heard laughing and cheering around me. I started coughing, looking down into the dead eyes of Jacob Black._

_Then, there was a scream. And another scream._

"_Oh my god, he's dead!" I heard someone shout. Hands were grabbing me and I was pulled away from Jacob's lifeless corpse. _

"_No!" I yelled, struggling to get back to him. "I promised," I sobbed. "I promised I would bring him back to his dad," I said, clutching the body once more._

_I looked up, seeing the shocked faces of my three friends. Edward and Rosalie looked horrified at seeing my competitor staring into the sky with his lifeless eyes. And then there was Bella._

_Her face was pale as a ghost as she looked down at her boyfriend's body. "Jacob," she whispered, sinking onto her knees beside me, not shedding a single tear. "Jacob—oh god," she said before breaking down into tears, flinging her arms across his chest._

_There was another shout of pain as Billy Black came running across the field. "Please, that's my son!" he sobbed. "My son, my Jacob!" he cried, kneeling beside Bella as he embraced the body of his dead son._

_A pair of strong arms pulled me up and away from Jacob. "No," I murmured as I was led away from the field. "No, I have to stay. I have to give him back to his father. I promised…"_

"_It's okay now, Alice. His father is there. You need to relax," came a gruff voice as he led me away from the field and back towards the castle._

"Edward, grab her legs!" Bella was yelling, supporting my arms and dragging me towards the tree.

"What are you doing?" I asked, my voice groggy as I felt myself being carried somewhere. I looked around, but everything looked blurry to me.

"Alice, just be quiet!" Bella ordered as she and Edward carried my small body. "We have to be quick. I don't know how much longer that tree is going to be still for!"

I looked up, seeing the Whomping Willow suspended in motion. "What happened?" I asked. "Why is the tree still?"

"Rose's cat did something and got the tree to stop moving. There!" Edward said, gesturing towards something. "Alice, can you walk or do you need me to carry you?"

"I think I'll be fine," I murmured as they placed me on the ground.

"Good, then climb down. And fast!" Bella ordered, pointing to a small archway at the base of the tree. Taking a deep breath, I went through feet first, sliding through the small tunnel and landed on my feet in a dark passageway below. I quickly moved out of the way and was joined by Bella and Edward a moment later.

"Where are we?" Bella asked, looking around the hall we were in. The walls were filled with scratches and tears. It reminded me of this scary movie April and I had watched on TV when we were younger. The movie had been about a monster who kidnapped women and ate them or something—all I could remember was covering my eyes the whole movie in fear, much to April's delight.

"I remember this—it was on the map. Fred and George said no one had even been in it because of that mad tree, but it led off the map towards Hogsmeade."

"Oh, I just hope Rose is okay," Bella whispered, clutching Edward's bleeding arm tightly.

"I'm sure she'll be fine," Edward reassured. "Rose is tough. She survived the Chamber of Secrets last year," he reminded her. "If anyone can fight off that dog, it's her."

We kept walking, moving quietly yet quickly. The tunnel was at least as long as the one that lead to Honeydukes, if not longer. Finally, the tunnel started moving upwards and we reached a small landing. Edward climbed up first, helping the two of us up after him.

We walked towards the door in front of us, hearing moaning coming from inside. "That must be Rose," Bella whispered, carefully pushing the door open.

There was a bed in the room where Crookshanks lay, purring quietly. Rose was seated on the floor, her leg sticking out at an angle that was unnatural. I winched slightly as she continued moaning in pain.

Edward immediately rushed to her side, dropping to his knees and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Rose, are you okay?"

"Where's the dog?" Bella asked, chewing on her lower lip like she always did when she was nervous.

"Not a dog," she murmured, her eyes drooping closed. "It's a trap. _He's an animagus…_"

We heard a click as the door shut and all of us turned to look. Standing by the door was Sirius Black, almost unrecognizable from any picture I had seen of him. His hair was filthy and knotted in many places. It hung down past his shoulders. His clothing was torn and covered in dirt while his eyes were sunken in to his face. If he wasn't breathing, I would have sworn he was dead.

"_Expelliarmus!_" he said, pointing Rosalie's wand at us. My wand, along with Bella's and Edward's, shot into the air and landed behind us with a clatter on the wooden floor.

He took a step closer to us, his dark eyes never leaving me. I shifted uncomfortable under his gaze, though I never let my face show how nervous he made me. Instead, I looked at him with pure hatred.

"I figured you'd come help your friend." His voice was rough, like he hadn't spoken in months. "Your father would have done the same for me. You are so like him in that way. Brave of you not to run for a teacher. I'm glad…it will make everything easier."

I felt my hands ball into fists as he brought up my father. How _dare_ he. How dare he even think about my parents! I wished I had my wand right then—not to protect us, but to kill Black. If my parents were dead because of him, then he deserved to be dead right along with them.

I took a step forward, but two sets of hands grabbed me. I looked next to me and saw Bella on one side and Edward on the other, both of them holding me back. "No, Alice," Bella whispered, her voice trembling.

Rosalie attempted to stand, making a pained face as she did so. "If you want to kill Alice, you'll have to kill all of us too," she said, trying to sound forceful. Rosalie swayed as she stood and her face turned green.

Black's face seemed to change for a moment. "Sit down. You're going to damage that leg even more."

"Didn't you hear me?" she asked, falling back to the floor with a soft thud. "I said you're going to have to kill me, Bella, and Edward."

"No, there will only be one murder tonight," Black stated, a manic grin on his face.

"Why's that?" I spat, the hatred still in my eyes. I tried pulling myself away from Edward and Bella, but they were holding onto me so tight that it seemed impossible. "You didn't seem to care last time about all those innocent people when you killed Pettigrew. What's three more innocent lives to you?"

"Alice!" Bella hissed. "Shut up!"

"HE KILLED MY PARENTS!" I shouted, and with a final pull, broke free of the hold on me. I launched myself forward, forgetting about magic and the fact that I was a petite thirteen-year-old girl while Black was a fully-grown man with a wand. All I wanted to do was cause him as much pain as humanly possible.

Maybe it was a mix of shock and amusement, but Black didn't move when I ran at him. I grabbed his wrist to force his wand away from everyone while my fist connected with his face. I managed to get in one more punch as my vision darkened and I fell to the floor.

"_Sirius, this is crazy," I muttered angrily, handing the bag of food to him. He was hunched in a cave, Buckbeak sitting in the corner, chewing on some kind of bone. "They're going to find you, and you're going to get arrested."_

"_No I'm not," he promised. "No one has seen me. They all think I'm a cute, lovable stray," he teased._

_That didn't help to placate my fears. "You're risking your life for nothing."_

"_Alice, I made myself a promise last year that I would watch over you and make sure nothing bad happened to you. This is me keeping my promise," he said, patting my knee lightly. "You're the only sort of family I have. If anything happened to you because I was in hiding instead of protecting you, I'd never forgive myself." He reached into the bag, pulling out a chicken leg and taking a large bite of it._

_I sat there, watching him devour the food. It was like he hadn't eaten in months. "And there's nothing I can say to make you leave?" I asked after a few minutes._

"_None. So don't try and lie to me and say everything's fine. I can tell when you're lying—just like I could with Jason. It must be a Brandon trait to be bad at lying," he teased._

_I rolled my eyes at him, sticking my tongue out. "I thought godfathers were supposed to be nice," I laughed, kicking his leg gently. _

"_No, we're horribly annoying and interrogate any potential boyfriends our goddaughters may have. Which leads me to this." He tossed The Daily Prophet into my lap. I saw my face on the front page with the headline, "__**Fourth Champion's New Love?"**_

_I sat there, my mouth open. How did they… "Do people have nothing better to do than ready about my love life?" I muttered unhappily, tossing the paper back to Sirius without bothering to read the article._

"_So it's true?" he asked, giving me a slightly disapproving look. _

_I let out a sigh. "Sirius, it just happened! It's not a big deal," I murmured, my face bright red at this point. Talking about boyfriends was not the ideal conversation for a fourteen-year-old girl to have with her godfather._

I opened my eyes, looking up at the ceiling. I felt the mattress from the bed beneath me. I heard grunting and sat up, seeing Bella and Edward restraining Sirius. I looked at him with confusion. He had a…a worried look on his face, which made no sense. I thought he'd want to see my pass out. That's what he wanted, after all. He wanted me dead.

I jumped off the bed, grabbing my wand off the floor and pointed it at Sirius. "Bella, get out of the way," I growled.

Bella stared at me. "Alice, don't," she whispered, but Edward grabbed her and pulled her over to where Rosalie was sitting.

"Going to kill me, Alice?" Black asked, his gaunt face staring at mine. His lip was bleeding and a bruise was beginning to form on his cheek.

"You killed my parents," I whispered. "You deserve this." My voice was shaky, but my hand was steady.

"I admit it," he murmured. "But if you only knew the whole story, if you knew everything that happened…"

"Everything that happened?" I shouted. "I don't want to know every little detail of how you murdered my parents. I know you sold them out to Voldemort. That's all I need to know!"

Black didn't even flinch at the mention of Voldemort's name like everyone normally did. Instead, he sat there calmly with a hint of desperation on his face. "You have to listen to me," he begged. "You'll regret it for the rest of your life if you don't. Please, Alice…"

I glared at him with hate-filled eyes. "You don't have to listen to my mum begging him for mercy in your head , her trying to stop Voldemort from killing her. I don't want to have to listen to a word you ever say. You did it. You killed her." I was at the point of breaking down, my voice cracking. I took a deep breath, pointing the wand at him again before Crookshanks leapt onto his chest, settling right over his heart.

"No, go away," Black murmured, but Crookshanks refused to budge, sinking his claws into Black's shirt. The cat turned to look at me. I looked over at Bella, who was crying.

I didn't know what to do. I didn't want to kill Bella's cat…but I had to. If it was willing to protect the person who murdered my parents, then it deserved to die with him.

My hand shook as I kept the wand pointed at Black, the minutes slowly passing. I had to do it. He _killed_ my parents. But I stayed frozen there, not able to move. I _wanted_ to kill him, but I couldn't.

I heard a new sound—footsteps above us. "WE'RE HERE!" Bella shouted. "UP HERE! COME QUICK—SIRIUS BLACK IS HERE!"

I gripped the wand tighter—it was now or never. I had to do it. I had to—

For the second time that night, my wand flew out of my hand. I looked over at the door, watching as Professor Lupin caught my wand as well as the ones Rosalie had been holding. I felt empty, disappointed in myself that I couldn't kill him. I'd never get another chance—he was going to be handed over to the dementors. It was over, all because—

"Where is he, Sirius?" Lupin asked in a tense voice.

What? I stared at Lupin with a dumbfounded expression while Bella, Rosalie, and Edward mirrored my face. No one understood what was going on.

Black looked at Lupin for a moment, his face expressionless. Then, he picked his hand up and pointed a bony finger at Rosalie.

"But then…why hasn't he shown himself before?" Lupin asked, pacing back and forth. He came to a stop, staring at Sirius. "Unless—unless _he_ was the one…unless you switched _without telling me_."

Black kept his eyes on Lupin as he slowly nodded his head. Lupin lowered his wand and pulled Black to his feet, embracing him like a friend he hadn't seen in many years. I felt my heart drop as a new wave of anger filled my body.

"I DON'T BELIEVE IT!" Bella shrieked. Lupin stepped away from Sirius, both of them looking at Bella's outraged face. "You—you—"

"Bella—"

"You and him!" she screeched.

"Please calm down," Lupin said calmly. "Let me explain—"

"I covered for you! I kept your secret!"

"I trusted you!" I yelled at him. "And all this time you've been his friend! Were you just pretending to like me so you could deliver me right to him?" I questioned.

"Alice, please," Lupin pleaded. "I haven't been Sirius' friend, but I am now. Just let me—"

"NO!" Bella screamed. "Alice, don't trust him! He's been helping Black get into the castle, he wants you dead—_he's a werewolf!"_

The entire shack filled with silence, everyone looking at Lupin who appeared calm, though his face had gone pale.

"I'm disappointed, Miss Swan. Only one out of three correct. I have not been helping Sirius into the castle and I most certainly don't want Alice dead." He paused for a moment. "But I won't deny that I'm a werewolf," he admitted.

Rosalie moved, letting out a painful sound. Lupin headed towards her, a concerned look on his face. "Get away from her, werewolf!" Edward shouted, causing Lupin to stop in his tracks.

He turned towards Bella, a sad look on his face. "How long have you known?"

"Since I did Professor Snape's essay," she said, sounding slightly smug.

"He'll be delighted," Lupin muttered bitterly. "The whole reason he assigned that was so someone would realize what I was. Did you check the lunar chart and realize I was always ill at the full moon? Or did you notice that my boggart changed into the moon when it saw me?"

"Both," she replied.

Lupin chuckled softly. "Well well, you really are the cleverest witch of your age."

"I'm not," she whispered. "If I was, I would have told everyone what you are."

"They already do," Lupin said. "Well, the staff does, at least."

"Dumbledore hired you, knowing you were a werewolf?" Edward gasped. "_Is he mad?_"

"Some thought so. He had to work hard convincing some of the teachers I was trustworthy—"

"AND HE WAS WRONG!" I screamed, unable to contain myself. "YOU'VE BEEN HELPING HIM THIS WHOLE TIME!"

"I have _not_," Lupin asserted. "Look, here," he said, tossing all of us our wands back. "There, you're armed. Now will you let me explain?"

"If you haven't been helping him, then how did you know we were here?" Rosalie asked, looking at Professor Lupin.

"The map," he replied. "I was examining the Marauder's Map in my office."

"You know how to work it?" Edward asked, sounding stunned.

"Of course I do. I helped write it—I'm Moony. That was my friend's nickname for me for obvious reasons."

"You _wrote—_"

"That's not the point. The point is, I was watching carefully this evening, figuring you four would try and sneak out to visit Hagrid because of the hippogriff. And I was right, wasn't I?"

We all kept our eyes on him, staying silent as he spoke.

"You might have been wearing your father's old cloak—"

"You know about that?" I asked.

"The number of times I saw Jason disappear underneath it…" Lupin shook his head at the memory. "But even if you're under the invisibility cloak, you still appear on the map. I watched you cross the grounds and enter Hagrid's cabin. Twenty minutes later, you left. Only this time, one more was with you."

"What?" Bella asked. "No we weren't. I think I would remember someone else coming with us."

Lupin ignored her. "I couldn't believe it. I thought the map was lying—how could he be with you?"

"No one was with us," Rosalie said.

"And then there was another dot moving towards you labeled Sirius Black. I saw you collide and he pulled two of you into the Whomping Willow—"

"One of us!" Rosalie shouted.

"No, Rose. _Two_ of you." Lupin had stopped in front of Rosalie and bent down in front of her. "Do you think I could have a look at your rat?" he asked.

"What?" she asked. "What does Scabbers have to do with it?"

"Everything. May I please see him?"

Rosalie bit her lip before reaching into her pocket, handing the squeaking rat to her teacher. We all watched curiously, not sure what was going on. Crookshanks stared at the rat, making soft hissing sounds.

Lupin let out a breath, a sick sort of smile on his face. "What's my rat got to do with this?" Rosalie asked, her voice high.

"That's not a rat," Sirius said suddenly.

"What are you talking about? Of course he is—"

"No," Lupin said. "He's not. He's a wizard. An Animagus by the name of Peter Pettigrew."

**AN: I am so so so sorry I have not been updating. I've had school and it's a bit hard. But I'm done for the summer, so I'll be able to update MUCH more frequently now :D**


	39. Good or Evil?

Chapter 36: Good or Evil?

"You're insane!" Edward shouted.

"Peter Pettigrew's _dead_," I announced. I pointed at Black as I continued. "He killed him twelve years ago." Black's face twitched a bit at my words.

"I meant to," he muttered, his hands balled into fists at his sides. "Little Peter got the better of me. But not this time…" Crookshanks fell to the floor as Sirius Black quickly rose to his feet and lunged at Rosalie's rat. She let out a yelp of pain as Black fell onto her injured leg.

"Sirius, NO!" Lupin shouted, grabbing Black's shoulder and dragging him away from Rosalie and her rat. Rosalie was gasping with pain as she clutched her leg. She looked as if she was about to start crying. "You can't just do it like that—we have to explain things to them," he explained.

"We can explain later," he muttered darkly, trying to throw Lupin off him. His eyes never left the rat in Rosalie's hands. Scabbers was thrashing wildly in Rosalie's hand, squeaking loudly as he tried to break free.

"They've got a right to know!" Lupin shouted, forcing Black into a sitting position on the bed. He seemed to sit still, though he was glaring murderously in Rosalie's direction. "Rosalie kept him as a pet! There are parts I don't understand. And Alice—you owe her the truth, Sirius!"

Black crossed his arms over his chest like a child who had just lost an argument, but he seemed to accept Professor Lupin's explanation. He turned his eyes to Lupin for a moment before they once again darted to the rat in Rosalie's hand.

"Okay. Tell them whatever. But make it quick, Remus—I want to commit the murder I was imprisoned for."

"You're insane," Edward said, shaking his head. "Both of you. I've had enough of this. I'm leaving." He got up to leave, but Lupin put a hand on his shoulder, stopping him in his tracks.

"You're going to hear me out, Edward. Just stay put while you listen. And keep a hold on Peter," he added, looking over at the injured Rosalie.

"He's not Peter!" she screeched. "He's Scabbers!" She attempted to force Scabbers into her pocket, but the only thing she managed to do was get a scratch on her hand from the frantic rat.

Ignoring Black, I turned to face my professor. "There were witnesses who saw Pettigrew die," I said. "A whole street of them. How can Peter be here if over ten people claimed they saw him die?"

"They didn't see what they thought they saw," Black snarled, his fingers twitching as he reached in front of him, most likely imagining himself killing the rat in Rosalie's possession.

"Everyone thought they saw Sirius kill Peter. Hell, even I thought I saw him kill Peter—until tonight," Lupin explained. "I saw the map—the Marauder's Map never lies. Peter's alive, and Rosalie is holding him right now, Alice."

I glanced over at Rosalie and she gave me a small nod of agreement: they were both insane. Their story made no sense whatsoever. How could Scabbers be Peter Pettigrew? Azkaban must have made Black insane after all—but why was Lupin humoring him?

Bella of all people spoke up, her voice trembling. "But Professor Lupin sir…Scabbers can't be Peter Pettigrew. He just can't. It can't be true, you know it can't…" Her voice trailed off at the end and she fell silent once more.

"Why can't it, Bella?" Professor Lupin said, his voice slightly amused yet calm as though Bella had just asked him a question in class.

"Because," she said, gaining a little more confidence in her voice. "People would _know_ if Peter Pettigrew had been an Animagus. We studied them in Transfiguration with Professor McGonagall, and I looked up the registry when I did my homework. The Ministry keeps tabs on witches and wizards who are able to become animals. It shows what animal they become, their markings, things like that. When I looked Professor McGonagall up, it showed there have only been seven Animagi this century and Peter Pettigrew's name wasn't on that list."

I barely had a chance to appreciate the amount of effort Bella put into her homework before Lupin laughed and began speaking again. "Right you are, Bella. But the Ministry never knew there used to be three unregistered Animagi running around Hogwarts."

"If you're planning on telling the story, Remus, get on with it," Black snarled. "I've been waiting twelve years to do this. I'm not going to wait much longer."

"All right," Lupin sighed. "But you're going to have to help me, Sirius. I only know the beginning."

Lupin fell silent as we all heard a creak in the room. The bedroom door had opened behind him of its own accord. We all stared at it, frozen in fear, before Professor Lupin walked over to it. He glanced out in the hall before turning back to us.

"There's no one there," he said quietly.

Edward shivered where he stood. "This place is haunted!"

"It's not," Lupin said, examining the door as he spoke. "The Shrieking Shack was never haunted. The screams villagers used to hear were made by me."

Professor Lupin shut the door and strode back over towards the bed, taking a seat on the edge of it as he brushed some of his graying hair out of his face.

"That's where all this starts, actually. It started with me becoming a werewolf. None of this would have ever happened if I hadn't been bitten…and if I hadn't been so foolish."

He looked very tired and aged at that moment. Rosalie opened her mouth to interrupt him, but Bella put a finger to her lips and shushed Rose, her full focus on Professor Lupin at this moment.

"I was a small boy when I received the bite," he explained. "My parents attempted to do everything, but in those days there was no cure. The potion Professor Snape has been making me is a very recent discovery. It makes me safe. As long as I take it in the week preceding the full moon, I can keep my mind when I transform. I'm able to curl up in my office as a harmless wolf as I wait for the moon to wane again. Before the Wolfsbane potion was discovered, I was a fully-fledged monster once a month. At that time, it seemed impossible that I would be able to come to Hogwarts. Other parents weren't likely to want their children exposed to me."

I sat there in silence, instantly feeling for Professor Lupin. I could understand what it was like being considered a freak among your own kind. My whole life, that's what I had been to my aunt and uncle. They'd seen me as a freak, just like Lupin had been.

"But then Dumbledore became headmaster. He was sympathetic towards me and my—ah—'situation'. He said that as long as we took certain precautions, there was no reason I couldn't come to school." Lupin turned his attention to me. "I told you, months ago, that the Whomping Willow was planted the year I came to Hogwarts. What I didn't tell you is that it was planted _because_ I came to Hogwarts. This house"—Lupin gestured around the room, looking miserable as he did so,—"the tunnel that leads to it—they were all built for my use. Once a month, I was smuggled out of the castle and into this place to transform. The tree was placed there to stop anyone from coming across me while I was dangerous."

I couldn't tell where this story was going and, judging by their expressions, neither could my friends. Regardless, we were all listening attentively, Professor Lupin's words keeping our interest. The only noise besides Lupin's voice was Scabbers' frantic squeaking.

"My transformations those days—they were terrible," Lupin said gravely. "It's very painful to turn into a werewolf. I was separated from humans to bite, so I bit and scratched myself instead. The villagers would hear the noise and the screaming every month. They thought they were hearing particularly violent spirits. Dumbledore encouraged the rumor. Even now, when the house has been silent for years, the villagers refuse to approach it.

"Apart from my transformations, I was happier than I had ever been in my life. I had friends for the first time. Three great friends, actually. Sirius Black, Peter Pettigrew…and of course, you're father, Alice—Jason Brandon."

I couldn't help the smile that grew on my lips as Professor Lupin mentioned my father. I heard about him so seldom that it was a treat when someone told me things about him.

"My three friends could hardly fail to notice I disappeared once a month. I made up all kinds of stories. I told them my mother was ill and I had to return home to see her. I was terrified they would desert me the moment they discovered what I was. But of course, just as Bella did, they worked out the truth."

"What did they do?" Rosalie whispered as Bella shushed her.

Lupin smiled a little. "They didn't desert me. Instead, they did something for me that not only made my transformations bearable, but made them the best times of my life. The three of them became Animagi."

"My dad too?" I asked, my jaw dropping.

"Of course," Lupin answered. "It took them almost three years to work out how to do it. Your father and Sirius were the cleverest students in the school at the time. It was lucky they were because the Animagus transformation can go horribly wrong—that's one of the reasons the Ministry keeps a close watch on those attempting to do it," he added, giving Bella a proud smile. "Peter needed all the help he could get from Jason and Sirius. In our fifth year, the finally managed to do it. They were each able to turn into a different animal at will."

"But how did that help you?" Edward asked, beyond confused at this point.

"They weren't able to keep me company as humans, so they kept me company as animals. A werewolf is only a danger to people," Lupin explained. "They would sneak out of the castle each month under Jason's invisibility cloak, then they would transform. Peter, as the smallest, could slip beneath the attacking branches of the willow and touch the knot that freezes it. They would then head down the tunnel and join me. Under the influence, I started to become less dangerous. My body was still that of a wolf, but my mind seemed to be more human while they were there with me."

"Hurry it up, Remus," Black spat, his eyes still focused on Rosalie and the rat in her hand.

"I'm getting there, Sirius," Lupin said patiently. "New, exciting possibilities were now open to us since we could all transform. Soon, we began leaving the Shrieking Shack and roaming the school ground and village by night. Sirius and James were such large animals that they were able to keep a werewolf in check. I doubt any other Hogwarts students in history ever found out as much about the school ground and Hogsmeade han we did. That's how we came to write the map and sign it with our nicknames. Sirius is Padfoot, Peter is Wormtail, and Jason was Prongs."

"What kind of animal—?" I started to say, but was cut off by Bella.

"That was incredibly dangerous, even with your friends!" Running around the dark with a highly volatile werewolf—what would have happened if you'd given the others the slip and bitten someone?" she asked.

"That thought still haunts me," Lupin said quietly. "There were near misses. We laughed about them afterwards. We were young, thoughtless—we got carried away with our own cleverness. I still feel guilty about betraying Dumbledore's trust. He admitted me to Hogwarts where no other headmaster would have done so, yet he had no idea I was breaking the rules he set down for my own and other's safety. He never knew I led three other students into becoming Animagi illegally. Though, I always managed to forget my guilt as soon as I sat down with my friends to plan the next month's adventure. And I haven't changed."

He placed his head in his hands as his face grew hard. I could hear the disgust in his voice—the disgust for himself.

"All this year, I've been battling with myself, wondering whether I should tell Dumbledore that Sirius is was an Animagus, yet I didn't do it. Why? Because I was too much of a coward. It would mean admitting that I'd betrayed his trust while I was at school, admitting I'd lead others along with me. Dumbledore's trust has meant everything to me. He let me in here as a boy and he gave me a job after I've been shunned all my adult life. I convinced myself Sirius was getting into the school using dark magic he learned from Voldemort to assuage my own guilt. I suppose in a way, Snape's been right about me all along."

"Snape?" Black said, pulling his eyes off Scabbers for the first time. "What's that git got to do with it?"

"He's here, Sirius," Lupin explained. "He teaches here as well." He looked up at Bella, Edward, Rosalie, and I. "Professor Snape went to school with us. He fought very hard against my appointment to the Defense Against the Dark Arts job. He's been saying all year that I am not to be trusted. He has his reasons. You see, Sirius played a trick on him which nearly killed him, a trick which involved me."

Black snorted, waving a dismissive hand, his eyes back on Scabbers. "Served him right. He was always sneaking around, trying to figure out what we were up to, hoping he could get us expelled."

"Severus was very interested where I went every month," Lupin explained to us. "We were in the same year as him. We—er—didn't like each other very much, very similar to yourselves and Mr. Malfoy. He especially disliked Jason. Jealous of his talent on the Quidditch field. Snape had seen me crossing the grounds with Madam Pomfrey one evening as she led me to the willow to transform. Sirius thought it would be _amusing_ to tell Snape all he had to do was prod the knot on the trunk with a long stick and he'd be able to get in after me. Well, of course, he tried it—if he'd gotten as far as the house, he'd have met a fully grown werewolf—but your father went down, risking his life to pull back Snape after he heard what Sirius had done," Lupin said, his eyes on me once again. "Snape glimpsed me, however. He was forbidden by Dumbledore to tell anybody, but from that time on, he knew what I was."

"So that's why Snape doesn't like you," I said quietly. "Because he thought you were in on the joke all along?"

"Precisely," a voice sneered from the wall behind Lupin. We all turned to look as Professor Snape pulled off the invisibility cloak, his wand pointed at Lupin's chest.

Bella covered her mouth as she let out a scream. Black jumped to his feet. I felt as though I was going to be sick. Edward reached over, grabbing my hand as he sent me into yet another vision.

"_Come on, Bella!" Edward yelled, sprinting down the corridor of the school. Bella and Rosalie were running after him, a look of panic on all their faces._

_Edward skidded to a stop in front of the tapestry by the Room of Requirement, looking around as Bella and Rosalie arrived, both of them panting._

"_Where is everyone?" Rosalie gasped, trying to refill her lungs with air. "Is no one else coming?" she asked._

"_Rose! Edward!" a booming voice shouted. The three of them turned as Emmett and Jasper sprinted towards them, followed by the Weasley twins. Behind them, I saw Luna Lovegood and Ron Weasley. _

"_Is this it?" Bella asked. "I sent out a message on the coin to meet here, that we're under attack."_

"_I know," Emmett said. "That's why we're here. The four of us Apparated to Hogsmeade and quickly headed over to the school. I wasn't going to let anything happen to my girl," he said, throwing an arm around Rosalie. "Rose, go back to the common room. I'm not letting you—"_

"_Not 'letting' me?" she snapped, her hands on her hips. "Look here, Mister. I love you and think it's great you don't want anything to happen to me, but Death Eaters are about to attack my school. My best friend is off to God knows where attempting to destroy part of You-Know-Who, and none of the teachers believed he when she said Malfoy was behind this. We're"—she gestured to herself, Edward, and Bella,—"Calling the shots. So shut up, listen and take some of Alice's lucky potion before Malfoy and his merry band of murderers manage to get into the school and wreak havoc."_

I gasped as I opened my eyes, finding myself being supported by Edward. He pressed a finger to his lips as he pointed over towards Snape and Black. Snape had his wand pointed in between Black's eyes and looked like he was about to kill him. Lupin was off to the side, ropes wrapped around him.

I pushed myself off Edward, attempting to regain my balance as he filled me in—Snape had discovered the map in Lupin's office and headed down here. He found my dad's invisibility cloak lying outside and used it to gain access where he waited until the right moment to make his presence known.

"Professor Snape," Bella said, her voice meek. "It—it wouldn't hurt to hear what they've got to say, w—would it?"

"Miss Swan, you are already facing suspension from this school," he spat, his eyes never leaving Sirius. "You and your friends are out of school bounds in the company of a convicted murderer and a werewolf. For once in your life, _hold your tongue!_"

"But—but—if there was a mistake—"

"KEEP QUIET YOU STUPID GIRL!" Snape roared, a mad look crossing his face. "DON'T TALK ABOUT WHAT YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND!" Bella fell silent, shrinking back behind Edward.

I felt the feeling returning to my fingertips, the vision leaving my head as I became fully aware of what was happening now.

"Vengeance is very sweet," Snape hissed at Black. "How I hoped I would be the one to catch you."

"The jokes on you once again, Severus," Black retorted. "As long as the girl brings her rat up to the castle, I'll come quietly," he said, jerking a thumb in Rosalie's direction.

"To the castle? No, I don't think we'll be going that far. All I have to do is find a dementor. They'll be very pleased to see you, Black—pleased enough to give you a little kiss."

All the color in Black's face drained and he actually looked scared. "You've got to hear me out," he croaked. "The rat—look at him—"

Snape, however, seemed mad with power. There was no reasoning with him. "Some with me, all of you," he said, pointing at the four of us. He snapped his fingers and the cords binding Professor Lupin flew into his hands. "I'll bring the wolf. I imagine the dementors will have a kiss for him too."

Taking a deep breath, I leaped in front of the door, blocking it. I placed my hands on my hips, a determined look on my face as I stared down Snape.

"Get out of the way, Miss Brandon. You're in enough trouble as it is. If I hadn't been here to save—"

"Professor Lupin had more than one hundred chances to kill me this year," I stated. "I've been alone with him plenty of times. If he was helping Sirius Black, why didn't he finish me off then?"

"Don't ask me how a werewolf's mind works. Get out of the way!"

"YOU'RE PATHETIC!" I screeched. "JUST BECAUSE THEY MADE A FOOL OF YOU IN SCHOOL, YOU WON'T EVEN LISTEN—"

"SILENCE!" Snape bellowed. "I WILL NOT BE SPOKEN TO LIKE THAT!" He looked madder than I'd ever seen him before. "Like father, like daughter! I have just saved your life. You should be _thanking_ me. You would have been well served if he had killed you. Like your father, you'd have died too arrogant to think you'd been mistaken in Black—now get out of the way or I will _make_ you."

It took me half a second to make up my mind. Before Snape had a chance to think, I pointed my wand at him. "Expelliarmus!" I shouted, except there were other voices mixed with mine. There was a loud bang as the door shook. Snape was lifted off his feet by the force of four curses. He fell to the ground with a thud, knocked out.

"You shouldn't have done that," Black said, addressing all of us. "You should have left him to me."

I looked away, not sure if I trusted him yet or not. All I knew is I wanted to hear his side of the story before I made up my mind about him.

Bella was starting to panic as she looked at Snape unconscious on the ground. "We attacked a teacher, we attacked a teacher," she was gasping, her hands wringing together. "Oh, we are in so much trouble," she whispered, looking over at Edward.

Black bent down and cut Professor Lupin free from the ropes binding him.

"Thank you, Alice," he said, standing up.

"I'm not saying I believe you," I said, biting my lower lip.

"Well, I suppose it's time we offered some proof," Lupin said. "Rosalie, give me Peter. Please."

Rose clutched the rat to her chest. "Come off it. Are you trying to say he broke out of Azkaban just to get his hand on _Scabbers_? I mean…" She looked up at me for support. "Okay, say Pettigrew could turn into a rat—there are millions of rats. How's he supposed to know which one he's after if he's locked up in jail?"

Lupin turned to Sirius. "That's a fair question. How _did_ you find out where he was?"

Black reached into his robes and took out a crumpled piece of paper, smoothing it flat to show to us. It was the picture of Rosalie and her family from the _Daily Prophet_ after Mr. Weasley had wont he money. In Rosalie's hands, there was Scabbers.

"How'd you even get this?" Lupin asked.

"Fudge," Black explained. "When he came to Azkaban to inspect it last year, he gave me his paper. And there was Peter on the front page with some girl holding him like a damn pet. And I knew at once it was him. How many times did we see him transform? And the caption said she was going to Hogwarts, to where Alice was."

"His front paw, my god," Lupin gasped.

"What?" Rosalie asked "What about it?"

"It's missing a toe," Black explained, pointing to the picture.

"Of course," Lupin said, his eyes bright. "So simple, so _brilliant_…he cut it off himself."

"Just before he transformed. When I cornered him, he yelled for the whole street to hear that I'd betrayed Jason and Cynthia. Then, before I had the chance to end the little rat's life, he blew apart the street with the wand behind his back, killed everyone within twenty feet of himself. Then he sped down into the sewer with the other rats."

"Did you ever here, Rose?" Lupin asked. "All they found of Pettigrew was his finger."

"He—he probably had another fight with a rat," Rosalie said defensively. "Scabbers has been in my family for ages!"

"Twelve years, right?" Black asked. "Didn't you ever wonder why he lived so long?"

"We—we took good care of him!"

"Not looking too good right now, is he?" Lupin said. "My guess is he's been losing weight since he heard Sirius was on the loose."

"No!" Rosalie said. "It's that mad cat." She pointed to Crookshanks who was sleeping on the bed.

I knew that was wrong—Scabbers had been ill since Rosalie had gotten back from Egypt…since Sirius Black had escaped from prison.

"That cat's not mad," Black said. He reached over, stroking Crookshanks with a small amount of affection I wasn't aware he was capable of. "He's the most intelligent of his kind I've ever met. He recognized Peter for what he was right away. And when he met me, he knew I wasn't a dog. It took a long time for him to trust me, but I finally managed to communicate to him what I was after, and he's been helping me."

"What do you mean?" Bella whispered, her fingers digging into her palms.

"He tried to bring me Peter but was unable to, so he stole the passwords into Gryffindor Tower for me. Took them from a boy's bedside, in fact."

I tried to figure things out in my head. It was all so absurd, but still…

"Peter got wind of what was going on and made a run for it. The cat told me Peter had left blood on the sheets. I suppose he bit himself—faking his own death had worked once."

That caught my attention. "Why did he fake his death?" I asked, anger in my voice. "Because he knew you were about to kill him, just like you killed my parents!"

"No," Lupin said, trying to calm me down. I wasn't having any of it.

"And now you've come to finish him off!"

"Yes," Black said calmly. "I have." He gave Scabbers a murderous look.

"Then I should have let Snape take you!"

"Alice!" Lupin yelled. "Don't you get it? All this time we've thought Sirius betrayed your parents and Peter tracked him down, but it was the other way around! _Peter_ betrayed Jason and Cynthia—Sirius tracked _Peter_ down—"

"THAT'S NOT TRUE!" I shouted. "HE WAS THEIR SECRET-KEEPER! HE SAID SO BEFORE YOU TURNED UP! HE SAID HE KILLED THEM!"

I was pointed at Black, unable to speak anymore. There was so much anger running through my body.

Black looked at me sadly. "Alice, I as good as killed them. I persuaded your parents to change to Peter at the last moment, convinced them to use him as the Secret-Keeper instead of me. I'm to blame. The night they died, I'd arranged to check on Peter, make sure he was still safe, but when I got there, he was gone. There was no sign of a struggle. It didn't feel right. I was scared, so I set out for your parent's house. And that's when I found their house destroyed, their bodies cast aside like…" He fell silent, shaking his head as if it were too painful for him to remember. "I realized then what Peter must have done…what I had done."

He turned away, wiping his eyes. And right then my hatred of Black disappeared. Maybe—maybe he was telling the truth.

"Enough," Lupin cut in. "There's one certain way to prove what really happened. Rosalie, give me your rat," he demanded.

"What are you going to do to him if I give him to you?" Rose asked nervously.

"Force him to show himself. If he's really a rat, this won't hurt him. I promise."

Rosalie paused, but eventually handed Scabbers to Lupin. "Ready Sirius?" Lupin asked. Sirius picked up Snape's wand, walking over to Lupin, his eyes burning.

"Together?" he asked.

Lupin nodded. "Together," he agreed. "One, two, THREE!"

I watched the light erupt from both wands. The light hit Scabbers. For a moment, nothing happened.

Then, I watched with shock as Scabbers changed. It was like watching a sped-up film of a growing tree. Though, instead of a tree, it was a man. A moment later, a short balding man was standing where the rat had been.

Peter Pettigrew lived.

**AN: I'm so so so so so so sorry I haven't updated. Life and shit has gotten in the way. But hopefully I'll be able to write more. I'm not making any promises, but I'm going to try my best!**


End file.
